Chamber of Secrets
by ArabellaBlack25
Summary: Harry, Ron, Hermione and Arabella are back for their second year as the figure out what the Chamber of Secrets is and who the Heir to Slytherin is.
1. Going to the Weasleys

**So this is the second book! Hope you like it. I just want to thank anyone who followed, put it as your favorite and wrote reviews for the previous book. I really appreciate it :) **

**As I said in the end of the previous book it would be in Harry's POV and Arabella's POV. You'll know when its which. I've never written anything in POV before. Hope it's right *fingers crossed***

**disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I own Arabella. **

Going to the Weasley's

'So… how mad is Andy?' asked Arabella as she and Remus were standing outside of their house.

'On a scale of 1 to 10, she's a 12,' said Remus, walking towards the door with Arabella behind him.

They walked into the living room to find Andromeda, Ted and NymphadoraTonks waiting for them. Ted and Nymphadora were sitting down while Andromeda was pacing next to the window. She stopped when Remus and Arabella entered the room.

'Have a seat,' said Andy to Arabella, pointing at the chair that was in front of all of them.

'So… how is everyone?' asked Arabella, trying to defuse the tension.

'Well, training has been – ' started Tonks.

'Arabella Kassandra Black! How could you! Putting yourself in danger like that! You could have died! What were you thinking?!' exclaimed Andy out of nowhere.

'Well… um… you see… the thing is…' said Arabella, trying to find the words to say that would get Andy to calm down.

Andy continued to look furious. Ted and Tonks were sitting on the couch, trying not to laugh at Arabella's face. Remus was standing at the doorway with a frown.

'I can't tell you everything, but,' she said when Andy was about to say something, 'it was for a good reason and it was to protect something that was about to go to the wrong hands.'

'But you could have –'

'I'm fine, everyone is fine. I'm not hurt and nobody tried to kill me,' she lied.

'Ted! Say something!'

Ted was caught off guard by this.

'Well,' he said with a cough, 'seeing as Arabella is ok and did it for a good reason, I think we should let this go.'

'But she's –'

'She's fine Andy,' said Ted, getting up and giving her a reassuring hug.

'Fine, but never, ever do it again. You almost gave me a heart attack,' said Andy as she went to Arabella and gave her a big hug. Soon, Ted and Tonks gave her hugs too.

'So, let's eat. Andy made you your favorite Arabella, Lamb Chops,' said Ted, walking towards the kitchen.

Soon, they sat down at the table and were eating while making some conversation.

'So, how's training Nymphadora?' asked Arabella.

'Don't call me Nymphadora,' said Tonks while her hair changed from a bubbly pink to a dark red colour.

'Fine, how's training Tonks?' smirked Arabella.

'It's ok. I'm training was Alastor Moody. He's working be to the bone, but it's nothing I can't handle,' said Tonks, shrugging.

Soon dinner was over and the Tonks went home. Arabella sat on the couch near the fireplace and was looking at Remus.

'Come on, spill. You were quite the whole time during dinner. I know you want to say something,' said Arabella.

Remus sighed.

'I just wished you didn't have to go through all of that. I care about you Ara. I don't want to see you hurt,' said Remus as he took a seat next to her.

'But I'm fine. Really, I am,' said Arabella, giving him a side hug.

'I know, it's just what I feel. That's all. What happened down there? Albus said that Quirrell was going to steal the Stone and that you and Harry was trying to save it.'

Arabella sighed, 'Promise you won't tell anyone? Especially Andy?' Remus nodded.

Arabella told him everything: The Devil's Snare, the flying keys, Ron sacrificing himself, Hermione with the riddle, Harry and herself facing Voldemort, but she left out the part where she got tortured.

'You faced Voldemort?!' exclaimed Remus.

'Yeah, he was on the back of Quirrell's head. Nobody knew, not even Dumbledore.'

Remus was at a loss for words.

'Can we just forget about this? Please? I don't want to reminded about it ever again,' said Arabella.

Remus sighed, 'Fine.'

'So how was your Christmas? Sorry I had to go out of town looking for a job,' said Remus.

'It's ok. Christmas was… ok. I spent some time with Harry, Ron and his brothers,' said Arabella, looking at anything besides Remus.

Remus was looking at Arabella. He could tell when she was not telling him something.

'Arabella, what really happened at Christmas?'

'I told you what happened.'

'No matter how much you try, you still can't lie to me. Come on, spill.'

Arabella huffed. 'I got a Christmas present from someone. It didn't say who. It was a picture of me, mom and dad.'

'Where is it?'

'Here.' Arabella pulled out the picture she had in her pocket. It's has been in there since Christmas.

'It's ok. I don't want to see it. Keep it safe.'

'Do you know who sent it to me?'

'Probably your father. Some prisoners are allowed to bring in some items in there and are allowed to send some presents to people once in a while.'

'Why now?'

'He knows that if he sent something to you before Hogwarts, I would probably send it back to him.'

Arabella nodded, understanding what Remus was telling her.

'Anything else you want to tell me? Anything about a mirror?'

Arabella was flabbergasted. 'How do you –'

'Albus told me about your midnight stroll with Harry. He didn't tell me what you saw in it though.'

'Do I have to?' groaned Arabella.

'You don't have to, but I know you will,' said Remus, giving her a knowing look.

_Damn you Moony_ she thought.

'I saw me, you, mom and dad. We were walking under the moonlight. Mom's not dead and dad stayed with us. You were healthy and didn't have the monthly problem.'

Remus was shocked, to say the least.

'I'm touched that you care about me so much, but I want you to promise me that you won't do anything like this again. No more wondering around in the night.'

'No promises,' said Arabella with a smirk.

'Thought so,' said Remus, with a small smile. 'Anything else you want to tell me?'

'Hagrid gave me a gift at the end of the year. He gave me dad's leather jacket that he found in Filch's office. He said that it belonged to me.'

'It does. As much as I don't like that you have things that reminds you of him, it is your choice if you want to keep them.'

'I want to keep it. I don't _hate _him, but I would like something that's his. Something that shows he wasn't always a murdered.'

'So how are your marks?' said Remus, changing the subject from her father.

'They're ok. Better than Harry and Ron's, which reminds me. Ron was us to stay over at his house during the summer, probably at the end. Is that ok?'

'Who else will be there?'

'Me, Harry, Hermione, Ron, his parents, his brothers and sister.'

'How many brothers does he have?'

'Well, there's Bill and Charlie, who doesn't live there any more, Fred, George and Percy. Ginny is his sister.'

'When are you going to go?'

'Don't know yet. Probably a week or two before school starts. Not sure,' said Arabella while her eyes were slowly starting to close.

'Go to bed. You're tired.'

'Good night Moony,' said Arabella, getting up from the couch and giving him a hug.

'Good night Ara,' said Remus, returning the hug.

* * *

Weeks Later

_'Embrace it. You were made for this. Do it!' said a cold voice behind her. _

_She could feel it. The bitter end. _

_'How… could you… my friend…' The figure in the floor chocked out. He turned his head to look at her. _

_She was met with striking green eyes. Eyes that seemed too familiar. Green eyes…_

_'Do it! Now!' came the cold voice. _

_No… I… No…_

_'Now!'_

_Green light was making its way at the victim. It was as if everything was in slow motion. Then it happened. The green eyes didn't seem so striking. _

_'You're one of us now,' said the cold voice as he laughed. _

_No… _Arabella…_No… _Ara…_Never…_

'Arabella, it was just a dream. Wake up!' said Remus, trying to shake his goddaughter out of her nightmare.

Arabella's eyes flew open. She was struggling for air. It was always like this.

'Hey, it's ok. It's just a dream. I'm here,' said Remus, pulling Arabella into a hug. She was shaking in his arms and her face was covered with sweat.

'Want to talk about it?'

'No, not now,' said Arabella, slowly calming down.

'Later then. Your arms are slightly bleeding. There's some medicine in the washroom. I'll go make some breakfast. Go wash up,' said Remus, slowly letting go of Arabella and making his way to the kitchen.

Arabella looked around her room. It was full of things. Things that Remus said she didn't need. Gifts from the Tonks and random nick-nacks from the street.

Next to the bed, on the table stand, was a picture of her mom, Kassandra. It was picture of her when she was at Hogwarts. Remus took it in their 7th year. Arabella will always look at it whenever she had a dream like that. The ones that would reopen the cuts.

Arabella took the picture and hugged it. It made her fell as though her mother was in the room with her, telling her that she had nothing to be afraid of and that there was pancakes downstairs.

'I miss you,' said Arabella, hugging the picture as some tears rolled down her face.

She put the picture down and wiped away the tears. She went to the bathroom and put the medicine on some of her cuts. She took a look at the cuts. Most of them faded away. Some of them left pink marks. The deeper ones were still there, the ones that would bleed sometimes.

'_It's a reminder of who you are.'_

A reminder. Even after all these years Bellatrix's voice still haunted her. Every time she looks at those cuts, her voice would appear. She still haunted Arabella, even though she's locked up in a cell miles away.

_No time to worry about this now _she thought.

She went downstairs to the kitchen to find Remus already sitting on the table with his usual morning coffee. He looked up when she came in and smiled.

'I'm ready,' said Arabella, sitting down and eating some of the bacon on her plate.

'Go on.'

Arabella told him about her dream with the cold voice and the green eyes.

'It's just a dream. You've been getting those since you were around 4,' said Remus.

'I started getting those after the incident,' mumbled Arabella.

'I know, but it's just a dream. You're not going to do any of those things. You'll never be like her. Ever. I promise you,' said Remus.

Arabella nodded, suddenly not hungry.

'Why don't you get ready? The Weasleys will be here anytime soon,' said Remus.

Arabella nodded and went upstairs to pack her things for her stay at The Burrow.

Remus sighed. _If only life was easy _he thought.

* * *

A Couple Hours Later

'Hello? Anybody home?' came a voice from the fireplace.

Remus was still in the kitchen. He got up and entered the living room.

There stood Molly Weasley and three other boys.

'Hello, I don't know if you remember. We met in the train station. Molly Weasley,' said the woman with a smile.

'Yes, I remember. And you guys are?' said Remus, pointing to the three boys behind her.

'This Fred and George,' pointing at the twins, 'and this is Ron, he's in the same year as Arabella.'

'She's just us some last minute packing. I'll go get her.'

Remus went upstairs to find Arabella sitting on her bed staring into space.

'Ara, the Weasleys are here.'

'Ok,' she said, grabbing onto her suitcase, 'let's go.'

Together, they went downstairs with Arabella holding on her suitcase and Remus watching her struggle with an amused smile.

'Ron!' exclaimed Arabella, giving him a small hug. She gave one to Fred, George and Mrs Weasley too.

'Fred and George, you first,' said Mrs Weasley as they grabbed Arabella's bag and disappeared into the fireplace.

Next was Ron, then Mrs Weasley.

Arabella turned to Remus and gave him a big hug.

'Don't forget to write,' she said, as her head was buried into his chest.

'I won't,' said Remus, kissing the top of her head, still hugging her.

'I love you Moony.'

'I love you too Arabella.'

After a moment, they let go of each other and Arabella stepped into the fireplace.

'I'll miss you,' said Arabella, with one last smile.

'I'll miss you too. Go, they're waiting for you,' said Remus.

'THE BURROW!'

Arabella was on the floor of the Weasley's living room.

'Here,' said the twins, helping her up.

'Thank you,' said Arabella.

'We already put your trunk upstairs. You'll be with Ginny,' said Ron.

Arabella nodded. She realized that Mrs Weasley wasn't in the room.

'Where's your mom?' whispered Arabella.

'Kitchen, she's preparing dinner,' said George.

'Do you know the plan?'

'Yes, and you don't have to whisper,' whispered Fred.

'Ok, sorry,' whispered back Arabella.

Ron shook his head. 'Come on, we'll show you the rest of the house.'

'Living room,' said George.

'Kitchen,' said Fred, entering the kitchen where Mrs Wealsey was chopping some onions.

'Hello Mrs Weasley. Thank you for letting me stay here,' said Arabella.

'No problem at all, dear. Ron has told us about the three of you. It's very nice to meet you,' said Mrs Weasley. 'Why don't you all go wash up. Dinner will be ready soon.'

The twins and Ron showed her where the washroom was and where she would be sleeping. Ginny was already in her room. They exchanged some pleasantries before the twins whisked her away to Ron's room and shut the door.

'This is the plan,' said George.

'Tonight we're all going to pretend like nothing is happening,' said Fred.

'We'll go to bed.'

'We're going to pretend to sleep.'

'At one o'clock we're going to get Ron and you.'

'Then, this is the tricky part; we're going to drive to Harry's house.'

'How's that a tricky part?' asked Arabella, who didn't like where this plan was going.

'The car flies,' said Ron, not looking at Arabella.

'You're going to fly to Harry's house?! Have you completely lost it?! There are so many laws that you could be breaking! Where did you get a car?' exclaimed Arabella in a whisper.

'It's Dad's car. He just added the flying part to it. Look, it's the only chance we've got. Something's not right. He won't reply to any of our letters. Don't you think it's a bit odd?' said Ron.

'Of course I do. But driving a car, we could get caught,' said Arabella.

'So, you're out?' asked George.

'Ok, I'll admit driving a car to a rescue mission sounds amazing, but –'

'Great. It's settled. Remember: one o'clock,' said Fred.

Arabella nodded, still not liking this plan.

* * *

'Petunia!' roared Uncle Vernon. 'He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!'

Ron and Arabella gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Uncle Vernon's grasp. Harry got in the car and slammed the door.

'Put your foot down, Fred!' yelled Ron, and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.

'See you next summer!' Harry yelled.

The Weasleys and Arabella roared with laughter and Harry settled back in his seat.

'So what's the story Harry?' said Ron. 'What's been happening?'

Harry told them about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry and the fiasco of the violet pudding. Silence followed when he finished the story.

'Very fishy,' said Fred.

'Definitely dodgy,' said George. 'So he wouldn't even tell you who supposed to be plotting all this stuff?'

'I don't think he could,' said Harry. 'I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall.'

He saw Fred and George look at each other.

'What, you think he was lying to me?' said Harry.

'Well,' said Fred, 'put it this way — house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?'

'Draco Malfoy,' said Arabella. 'He hates us.'

'Draco Malfoy?' said George. 'Not Lucius Malfoy's son?'

'The very same,' said Arabella.

'I've heard Dad talk about him. He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who,' said George.

'He wasn't just a supporter. He was in the inner-circle,' said Arabella.

'After You-Know-Who disappeared Lucius Malfoy came back and said he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung.'

'I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-lf…' said Harry.

'Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll be rich,' said Fred.

'Usually those snooty ones that believe they're above everybody else,' said George.

'Hey! I have an house-elf!' exclaimed Arabella.

'You do?' they all said, turning around so that they could all see her.

'Yeah, he's name is Kreacher. Horrible little thing. Met him twice after my grandmother died. Technically I own him since it goes to the oldest son and his heir, me.'

'Why do you mean by 'horrible little thing'?' asked Harry, remembering Dobby, who didn't seem horrible to him, except for the last part.

'When I met him he kept saying that he wouldn't 'serve the daughter of the swine that made his mistress cry'. Then he went on and said that I was a blood-traitor and all that stuff.'

'He sounds horrible. Shouldn't he have treated you with respect? You are his master after all?' asked George.

'He's been with my grandmother for so many years. He still thinks that she's his master. There's a portrait of her in the house. I visited there once years ago. He takes orders from a moving picture. He's sanity is gone. I'm happy to give him away but he seems to want to stay there and listen to her,' said Arabella, shrugging her shoulders.

'Anyway, I'm glad that we came to get you,' said Ron, after a couple minutes at Harry. 'I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of our letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first –'

'Who's Errol?'

'Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes –'

'Who?'

'The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect,' said Fred.

'But he wouldn't lend it to me,' said Ron. 'Said he needed him.'

'Percy's been acting very oddly this summer,' said George. 'And he's has been sending a lot of letter and spending a load of time shut up in his room.'

'Maybe he's got a girlfriend,' said Arabella

Fred, George and Ron started to laugh at this.

'Yeah, right,' said George, whose face was turning red.

'Percy with a girl? As if,' snorted Fred.

'Just saying,' mumbled Arabella. 'Fred, you're driving too far west,' she said, pointing at the compass.

'So, does your dad know you've got the car?' said Harry.

'Er, no,' said Ron, 'he had to work tonight. Hopefully we'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it.'

'That's the main road,' said George, looking down through the windshield. 'We'll be there in ten minutes… Just as well, it's getting light…'

Lower and lower went the flying car.

'Touchdown!' said Fred as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground. Harry looked out of the window for the first time seeing Ron's house.

'It's not much,' said Ron.

'It's wonderful,' said Harry happily.

They got out of the car.

'Ok, like the plan. Everybody go upstairs quietly and wait for Mrs Weasley to call us down for breakfast. Then Ron will say something like 'Mum, look who turned up in the night!' She'll be pleased that Harry's here and no one should ever find out about the car. Got it?' said Arabella.

'Got it,' chorused the boys.

'Right,' said Ron. 'Come on, Harry, I sleep at the – at the top –'

Ron had gone a nasty greenish colour, his eyes fixed on the house. The other four turned around.

Mrs Weasley was marching across the yard. For a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger.

'Ah,' said Fred.

'Oh, dear,' said George.

Mrs Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next.

Arabella seemed to have found Harry's arm and squeezed the life out of it.

'So,' said Mrs Weasley.

'Morning, Mum,' said George.

'Have you any idea how worried I've been?' said Mrs Weasley.

'Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to –'

'Beds empty! No note! Car gone — could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? — never, as long as I've lived — you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy —'

'Perfect Percy,' muttered Fred.

'YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!' yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. 'You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job —'

After what seemed like hours, Mrs Weasley turned to Arabella.

'Are you ok, dear? You look tired, better take a quick nap after breakfast,' she said.

Arabella nodding, loss for words.

She turned to Harry.

'I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, dear,' she said. 'Come in and have some breakfast.

They all entered the house and went to the kitchen.

Mrs Weasley was moving around making breakfast and muttering things like 'don't know what you were thinking of' and 'never would have believed it.'

'I don't blame you, Harry, dear,' she said. 'Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written to Ron by Friday. But really, flying an illegal car halfway across the country – anyone could have seen you –'

'It was cloudy, Mum!' said Fred.

'You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!' snapped Mrs Weasley.

'Mrs Weasley, they had bars on his window,' said Arabella.

'Be that as it may, it was still dangerous,' said Mrs Weasley.

Nothing was said until all five plates were cleaned.

'All of you are going to de-gnome the garden for me,' said Mrs Weasley. 'You can go to bed Harry, Arabella, if you want.'

'It's ok. I'll help,' said Arabella, who seemed to feel guilty.

'I'll help too. I've never been de-gnoming – ' said Harry.

Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry and Arabella behind them.

* * *

'He's back! Dad's home!' said George.

They hurried back into the house.

'What a night,' he mumbled. 'Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I turned my back…'

'Find anything, Dad?' said Fred.

'Just some shrinking door keys and a biting kettle. You wouldn't believe the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe –'

'LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?'

'C-cars, Molly, dear?'

'Yes, Arthur, cars,' said Mrs Weasley, her eyes flashing. 'Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly.'

Mr. Weasley blinked.

'Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if — er — he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth. . . . There's a loophole in the law, you'll find. . . . As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't —'

'Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!' shouted Mrs. Weasley. 'Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Arabella arrived yesterday and Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!'

'Arabella? Harry?' said Mr. Weasley. 'Who?'

He turned around, saw Arabella first.

'Arabella Black. Pleased to meet you. I knew your mother, very kind woman,' he said, getting up and shaking her hands.

'Harry Potter,' he said, turning to Harry. 'Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about the –'

'Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!' shouted Mrs. Weasley. 'What have you got to say about that, eh?'

'Did you really?' said Mr. Weasley eagerly. 'Did it go all right? I — I mean,' he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs. Weasley's eyes, 'that — that was very wrong, boys — very wrong indeed. . . .'

'Let's leave them to it,' Ron muttered to Harry and Arabella as Mrs. Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. 'Come on, I'll show you my bedroom.'

'It's not much,' said Ron, walking up the stairs to his room. 'A bit small. Not like the one you have with the Muggles but…'

'It's the best house I've ever been in,' said Harry, grinning widely while Arabella was nodding her head.

**Thank you for reading! I really wanted to include most of the tings with the Weasleys, especially Molly and Arthur :) Hope you like it. **


	2. Morning Pranks

**So, this is just my chapter with some random fun in the house, nothing from the book. **

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything that has to do with it. Arabella's mine. **

Morning Pranks

'Harry. Hey, Harry,' said Arabella as she was shaking Harry to make him up at four o'clock in the morning.

'What?' said Harry, who was half awake.

'What to play a prank on the twins?'

Harry was fully awake and was staring at Arabella.

'A prank on the twins? It's impossible to get them,' said Harry.

'Difficult, yes. But not impossible. I've grown up with some of the best pranksters in the world and I learned a thing or two from them,' said Arabella in a proud voice.

'Who are they?'

'My mom was a prankster, so was my godfather. Nymph was also a prankster, sometime,' said Arabella. 'So, are you in or not?'

'Fine, I'm in,' said Harry.

'Great. Let's go,' said Arabella.

'What? Now? Can't I sleep first?'

'We need to do it now when they're still asleep. You'll get George and I'll get Fred.'

Harry sighed in defeat.

'What do we have to do?'

Arabella smiled wickedly.

* * *

'AAAAAAAAARGHHHH!'

Arabella and Harry were downstairs sitting at the dinner table with Mrs Weasley in the kitchen making them breakfast. They had a hard time holding in their laughs, but were able to do it.

'What going on up there?' screamed Mrs Weasley.

The twins came running down the stair with the rest of the Weasleys following them.

'Oh my,' said Mrs Weasley.

Fred had green hair with little pink highlights while George had purple hair with small yellow highlights. Ron and Ginny couldn't stop laughing. Percy was frowning at them and marched away. Mr Weasley had an amused smile on his face. Mrs Weasley had a hard time keeping a straight face.

'Mum, do something!' exclaimed George.

'Make it go away!' said Fred, falling on his knees.

'Nice hair Fred, very Slytherin of you,' said Arabella with a smirk.

Fred and George turned and pointed their fingers at her.

'It was you!' accused Fred.

'And him,' said Arabella, pointing her finger at Harry.

George turned his finger at Harry, who was glaring at Arabella.

'It was her idea,' said Harry, pointing his finger at Arabella.

They were all staring at each other while the others were looking on with some laughter.

'Fred, George, go wash up for breakfast. I'll fix it later,' said Mrs Weasley with a smile.

Fred and George were still staring at Harry and Arabella.

'You do know this means war,' said Fred.

'Bring it,' said Arabella.

'We got our eyes on the two of you,' said George, pointing his two fingers at his eyes and then towards them.

'Same the other way around,' said Harry.

'Fred, George, go wash up,' said Mr Weasley.

Fred and George walked away while still looking at the duo.

'They're going to get us back,' said Harry, who was a little scared.

'I know. I have loads more ideas for them,' said Arabella with a twinkle in her eyes.

'Can we come next time?' squeaked Ginny, pointing to her and Ron.

'Of course, I have the perfect plan, if they take revenge,' said Arabella, putting her arm around Ginny's shoulder.

'Let's eat,' said Mrs Weasley.

* * *

The next morning Fred and George came down for breakfast with identical mischievous smiles. Harry, Ron and Ginny were closely watching them while they were waiting for breakfast.

'What did you?' said Ron, looking at both of them with narrowed eyes.

'Nothing,' they said together.

'FRED! GEORGE!'

Arabella came running downstairs. She was fuming and looked like she could breathe fire at any moment. Harry, Ron and Ginny were staring at her with their mouths open.

'Put it back!'

'Put what back?' said George.

'I must say, I don't like this new look on you Arabella. Right, George?' said Fred.

'Not right at all,' said George, shaking his head.

'What doing on?' said Mr Weasley, walking down the stairs and stopped short when he saw her. 'Oh, Arabella, your –'

Arabella was bald. There was no other way to put that. Her long dark brown hair was gone.

'Mrs Weasley!'

'Yes – ' said Mrs Weasley, who just came into the kitchen and saw Arabella.

'Please put it back! Please!' begged Arabella.

'Of –Of course! One moment,' said Mrs Weasley as she left the room. They could hear some laughter coming from the other room.

Arabella turned to the twins who were openly laughing at her.

'I'll get you back for this,' she said.

'Bring it,' said George, mocking her words.

'I will. Harry, Ron, Ginny, come with me,' said Arabella.

They all marched upstairs with the twins still laughing at the breakfast table.

* * *

'Does Mrs Weasley know?' whispered Harry to Arabella.

'Yeah,' said Arabella, 'she's ok with it.'

They were sitting at the breakfast table while Mrs Weasley was adding a 'special ingredient' in Fred and George's pancakes.

'You sure this will work?' said Harry.

'Of course,' said Arabella. 'Within the first two bits it should show.'

Ginny came downstairs, avoiding Harry's eyes, and sat next to Arabella.

'They checked everything in the bathroom and didn't find anything. They're going mental,' she whispered at Arabella.

'Perfect,' said Arabella, waiting for the signal that they were coming down, which was Ron.

Within five minutes, Mrs Weasley served them their plates and Ron sat at the table. Fred and George came downstairs, eyeing everything they came into contact with.

'You alright there, Fred, George?' said Ron, who had some pancake in his mouth.

'Fine,' said George, looking at Arabella with narrowed eyes.

'Fred, George, stop fooling around. Eat your breakfast,' said Mrs Weasley, who was smiling when her back was turned.

Fred and George sat down and looked at their pancakes. It didn't look like it was poisoned. They slowly picked up their forks and ate it. It didn't seem bad, so they continued to eat.

Within five minutes they noticed that Arabella, Harry, Ron and Ginny started to laugh. They turned to Arabella.

'What did you do?' said Fred.

'Nothing,' said Arabella, looking at their faces and laughed again.

Fred and George looked at each other and their eyes widened. Fred and George were both blue and had their hair turning yellow. _(smurfs ;))_

'How did you –'

Arabella pointed at Mrs Weasley, who was smiling.

'MUM!'

Mrs Weasley shrugged her shoulders and went back to what she was doing.

'She was okay with it,' said Arabella.

'Well played Black, well played,' said Fred, looking at Arabella with a small smile.

'But you forget one thing,' said George.

'Yeah? What?' said Arabella.

'We're Gred and Forge. We know everything,' said Fred with a smirk.

'We know where everything is,' said George, smiling.

'And how to make things.'

'So?' said Arabella, waiting for an explanation.

'Just keep an eye out,' said George.

'Let's go. Gotta wash this stuff out,' said Fred, getting up with George and leaving the breakfast table.

'They've got nothing,' said Arabella, watching them leave.

'Don't be too sure. They're going to get you back,' said Ron.

Arabella shrugged.

'I have Harry. He'll protect me,' said Arabella, putting her head in Harry's shoulder.

'Not likely,' snorted Harry.

'Fine,' grumbled Arabella, eating her pancakes.

* * *

'Harry, get up. Day four of their pranks,' said Ron.

Harry woke up and walked with Ron downstairs. Mr and Mrs Weasley were already there. Behind them came Arabella and Ginny.

'Mornin',' they said sleepily.

'Where's Fred and George?' said Arabella, rubbing her eyes.

'They went to get the clothes from outside,' said Mr Weasley, reading the morning paper. Arabella nodded.

'Here they come,' said Harry, who was sitting next to her.

Fred and George were carrying two loads of clothes, each smiling. Arabella seemed to be on alert.

'Here you go Mum,' said Fred, putting the baskets near the staircase.

'Thank you dears,' said Mrs Weasley.

The two of them sat down across from Harry and Arabella.

'Morning,' said George.

'Beautiful day isn't it?' said Fred.

'Lovely,' said Arabella, narrowing her eyes at them.

'I agree with you Arabella,' said Fred.

'Quite lovely,' said George.

Mrs Weasley came and served them eggs, giving Harry and Arabella extra. Not even five minutes passed when Arabella's eggs exploded in her face.

'FRED! GEORGE!' screamed Mrs Weasley.

Harry was helping her clean up when Arabella suddenly started laughing.

'Good one! I have to remember that,' she said with a big smile.

'Glad you think so,' said George.

'You weren't so bad yourself,' said Fred.

'The blue stuff was really hard to take out,' said George.

'It was supposed to be,' said Arabella, wiping egg bits from her face.

She stuck out her hand towards them and said, 'Truce?'

'Truce,' the both side and shook her hand.

Mrs Weasley was staring at them in shock.

'Who's going to clean this up?!'

'I will,' said Arabella, getting up and getting a wet cloth.

Everybody went back to their food.

* * *

'Are you really done with pranking them?' asked Ginny when they went back to bed.

'Just one more,' said Arabella, getting up and opening the door a bit.

Three… Two… One…

'BOOOOM!'

Something seemed to have exploded from Fred and George's room. Everyone came out of their room to see what the commotion was.

'Honestly, what now?' said Percy.

They opened Fred and George's door. They were both covered in black while the rest of the room seemed to have been splattered in different colours. They were also laughing.

'Nice one Arabella!' they both said.

'This stuff can come out, right?' said George.

'Maybe…' said Arabella, as everyone went back to bed.

**Thank you for reading! I only did four pranks because that's all I could think of. I was worried whether or not I got the Twins right. Hope you like it. **

**If you're wondering why Mrs Weasley is quite here is because I thought that she would expect them to get into a prank war and be okay with it. **


	3. At Flourish and Blotts

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella and her story. **

**Hope you like it! Enjoy :)**

At Flourish and Blotts

'What am I supposed to do?' Harry stammered.

'He's never travelled by Floo powder,' said Ron suddenly. 'Sorry, Harry, I forgot.'

'Here, I'll go,' said Arabella. She took some of the powder from the flowerpot, stepped into the fire and threw the powder into the flames.

The fire turned green and rose higher than Arabella, who stepped into the flames and shouted 'Diagon Alley!' and vanished.

* * *

Arabella landed in the floor of the Leaky Cauldron. Fred and George were already there and helped her up.

'Do you always fall down?' said Fred.

'Always,' said Arabella, wiping some of the dust on her clothes.

George raised his eyebrows. 'Don't you want to be a Chaser?'

'Yes. I'm good on a broom. This is different,' said Arabella.

'Whatever you say,' mumbled George.

Soon after the rest of the Weasleys entered the Cauldron. Mrs Weasley was looking around.

'Where's Harry?' she asked Fred, George and Arabella.

'We don't know. He didn't come through the fireplace,' said Arabella.

'We same him go through,' said Mr Weasley.

'He's probably in one of the other shops. We'll find him,' said Ron.

The all stepped out of the Cauldron and into Diagon Alley.

'Arabella! Ron!' screamed a voice behind them.

Arabella turned and was met with a face full of bushy hair. Hermione hugged her and all Arabella had in her mouth was Hermione's hair.

'Oh, how are you? It's wonderful to see the two of you. Where's Harry?'

'We don't know,' said Ron.

'We'll find him. Don't worry,' said Arabella, who started to panic a bit.

'I'll go look for him,' said Hermione, walking off the other way towards Knockturn Alley.

'Does she know where she is going?' asked Arabella, knowing the type of people that go there.

'Probably not,' said Ron, 'let's go follow her.'

They followed Hermione and soon saw Harry and Hagrid.

'Hello Hagrid,' said Arabella with a smile.

'Hello Arabella,' said Hagrid, returning the smile. 'Good summer?'

'Can't complain,' said Arabella, shrugging her shoulders.

'Course not, you were having a prank war with the Twins,' said Harry.

'Anyway, let's go. Mum's getting worried,' said Ron.

They were walking away from Knockturn Alley when the Weasley were walking frantically towards them.

'Oh, Harry – oh, my dear – thank heaven you're alright,' said Mrs Weasley.

'Where were you?' asked Mr Weasley, mending Harry's glasses.

'Knockturn Alley,' said Hermione.

'Knockturn Alley!' exclaimed Mrs Weasley.

'What's wrong with Knockturn Alley?' whispered Hermione to Arabella.

'All the odd people go there. You know, the criminal type,' said Arabella. By the look on Hermione's face, she understood Mrs Weasley's reaction.

'Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burked?' Harry asked Ron, Arabella and Hermione. 'Malfoy and his father.'

'Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?' said Mr Weasley behind them.

'No, he was selling –'

'So he's worried,' said Mr Weasley. 'Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…'

'Be careful Arthur,' said Mrs Weasley. 'That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew –'

'So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?' said Mr Weasley, but he wasn't paying attention anymore when he saw Hermione's parents, waiting for her.

"But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.

'Meet you back here,' Ron said to Hermione as the Weasleys, Harry and Arabella were led off to their underground vaults by another goblin.

Harry and Arabella enjoyed the journey to the Weasley's vault, but felt bad when it was opened. Harry felt even worse when they reached his vault. He tried the block the contents from their view as he shoved some coins in his leather bag.

'I think I'm going to be sick,' said Arabella.

'Why?' said Harry.

'We're going to my vault next.'

'So…'

'You'll see,' she said, looking bad.

It took a little long to get to Arabella's vault. It was deeper down than the rest of theirs. They soon reached her vault, seven hundred and eleven. She tried to close the door when she entered, but the goblin wouldn't allow her. He opened the door all the way, allowing Harry and the Weasley to see in it. The Weasleys' and Harry's mouth was open.

It was one of the bigger rooms and there were mountains of gold, more than Harry had. There were also jewels, golden plates and cups.

Arabella picked up a couple of coins and quickly left the vault, avoiding their eyes.

'That's all yours?' asked Ron, astonished.

'Um… yeah… well… it's mostly my mom and dads… and some from my grandmother, even though she didn't like me. Most of it is inherited from the family with the Black name,' said Arabella, looking down.

'So you get everything because of your last name?' asked Harry.

'Pretty much. I know Andy's didn't get anything because he married a Muggle-born and Malfoy's mother got some, but she's married to Lucius Malfoy, they're rich enough. I know I have an uncle somewhere that died a long time ago. He gave everything to my dad and when he went to prison, I got it,' she said in a very fast voice.

When they all stepped outside, they separate. Percy went to get a new quill. Fred and George saw Lee Jordan. Mrs Weasley and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop. Mr Weasley took the Grangers to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.

Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione strolled off the cobbled street, promising to meet them all in one hour at Flourish and Blotts.

'Can we go to Eeylops Owl Emporium? Uncle Remus said I could get one for a late birthday gift,' said Arabella. They nodded and made their way there.

They entered the shop and were looking around.

'So, which one?' said Ron.

'Don't know. Let's look around,' said Arabella.

'How about this one?' said Ron, pointing to a brown owl that looked bored, somehow.

'No, what about that one?' said Harry, pointing at another brown owl with black eyes. Arabella shook her head.

'Need any help dear?' said an old kind lady behind them, after watching them for a while.

'We're looking for an owl for our friend here,' said Hermione, pointing to Arabella.

'Anything in particular you're looking for in an owl?' asked the lady to Arabella.

'Something that's not brown,' said Arabella, looking at a plain brown owl beside her.

'Well, we have a grey owl somewhere in the back, he has green eyes. Not many people like that combination. Would you like to see it?' she asked sweetly.

'Sure,' said Arabella, following her to the back.

'Here it is,' said the lady, holding up a cage with a beautiful grey owl with bright green eyes.

'He's beautiful,' said Arabella, staring at the owl. 'I'll take him.'

She paid the lady ten galleons and let the store with Harry, Ron and Hermione, heading towards Flourish and Blotts.

'So, what are you going to call him?' asked Harry.

'Shay,' said Arabella, still staring at the owl.

'Let's get going, we have to meet them there soon,' said Ron.

Soon enough there were standing outside Flourish and Blotts and was reading the sign that was there.

GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME today 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm

'We can actually meet him!' Hermione squealed. 'I' mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!'

The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs Weasley's age. Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione squeezed inside.

'Oh, there you are,' said Mrs Weasley when she spotted them. 'We'll be able to see him in a minute…'

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet —"

"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.

Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron —and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"

The crowd started to whisper excitedly. Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer. Hermione looked at Lockhart dreamily, while Ron and Arabella looked disgusted at Harry's display.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said loudly. 'What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting for some time! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present to him now, free of charge –' The crowd applauded again.

'He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!'

The crowd cheered and clapped.

'Can you believe this? He's going to be our teacher!' whispered Arabella with her mouth open.

'I know! Aren't you excited?' said Hermione, who looked star-struck. Ron turned to her, giving her a disgusted look.

Harry managed to get away from Lockhart to where Ginny was standing next to her cauldron.

'You have these,' Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. 'I'll buy my own –'

'Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?' said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing.

He found himself face to face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.

'Famous Harry Potter,' said Malfoy, 'Can't even go to a bookstore without making the front page.'

'Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!' said Ginny. She was glaring at Malfoy.

'Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!' drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron, Arabella and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books. Arabella was struggling to carry her books and Shay.

'Oh, it's you,' said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant in the sole of his shoe. 'Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?'

'Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley,' retorted Malfoy. 'I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those.'

Red went red and dropped his books into Ginny's cauldron. He started towards Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.

'Ron!' said Mr Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. 'What are you doing? It's too crowed in here, let's go outside.'

'Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley.'

It was Mr Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way. Arabella managed to grad onto Harry's arm and pull him behind her.

'Lucius,' said Mr Weasley, nodding coldly.

'Busy time at the Ministry, I hear,' said Mr Malfoy. 'All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?'

'Obviously not,' said Mr Malfoy, examining Ginny's old, battered copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. _'Dear me, what's the use of begin a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?'

Mr Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny. Before he could respond, Mr Malfoy turned to Arabella.

'Well, well, Cousin Black. Nice to see you again,' he said.

'Likewise,' said Arabella, coldly.

'Tell me, how's Lupin? Found a job yet?' he sneered.

'I don't see how that's any of your business,' said Arabella hotly.

'It is a shame, however. Staying in the company of Weasleys and his type, and I though both of your families could sink no lower –'

There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr Weasley had thrown himself at Mr Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, 'Get him, Dad!' from Fred and George; Mrs Weasley was shrieking, 'No, Arthur, no!'; the crowd stampeded backwards, knocking more shelves over; 'Gentlemen, please – please!' cried the assistant, and then, louder than all –

'Break it up, there, gents, break it up – '

Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.

"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr. Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that — no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter — bad blood, that's what it is — come on now — let's get outta here."

They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs Weasley beside herself with fury.

'A fine example to set for your children… brawling in public… what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought –'

"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report — said it was all publicity —"

They went inside the Leaky Cauldron and headed towards the fireplace, using Floo powder to get back. They said goodbye to the Grangers. Harry took off his glasses and put them safely in his pockets before helping himself to Floo powder. It was not his favourite way to travel.

* * *

After the returned to the Burrow, Arabella went to Ginny's room and wrote a letter to Remus.

_Dear Moony, _

_This is Shay. The rest of the owls were brown and nobody else wanted him. _

_Things at the Weasleys are going fine. I had a prank war with Fred and George. Harry, Ron and Ginny helped too. At first, me and Harry turned their hairs into different colours with that liquid we bought in that shop near Gloucester. Then they took my hair off and we turned them into blue people with blond hair. Their last one was exploding eggs in my face. At night I used that colour bomb we made a couple years ago on them. They like it and kept asking where I got it. I didn't tell them anything. Yet..._

_Anyway, we went to Diagon Alley today and met our new DADA teacher. He's Gilderoy Lockhart. He seems to care only about publicity more than anything else. You would be a lot better than him. We also met Lucius Malfoy. He said something's about you and the Weasleys. Mr Weasley and Malfoy got into a fight. We were cheering for him. _

_Hope you're ok. Send a reply soon. Be nice to Shay. I love you. _

_Arabella. _

Arabella read the letter a couple time before she rolled it up and attached it to Shay.

'It says Moony, but it's for Remus Lupin. He lives near Dufftown. You'll find it,' said Arabella, stroking his feathers.

Shay seemed to understand and flew away with her letter.

Arabella looked over at Ginny and found her fast asleep. She looked at the clock and saw that it was eleven o'clock. She wasn't sleepy, so she went downstairs and made some hot chocolate.

_Company of Weasleys and his type _whispered the voice in her head.

_Stupid Malfoy, he didn't know what he was talking about _she thought. _The Weasleys are an amazing family. Remus is the best person in the world. Who else would raise a child with his monthly condition? _

'Are you ok?' asked a voice that broke her train of thought. It was Harry. He was in the kitchen, looking at Arabella with concern.

'What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking,' said Arabella, taking a sip of her drink.

Harry sat in the chair opposite of her.

'Talk it out. You'll feel better,' said Harry.

'It's nothing,' said Arabella.

Harry didn't believe her. He raised his eyebrow towards her.

'It's just Malfoy's father. Seeing him and listening to him. That's all,' said Arabella.

'He doesn't seem like a nice person. Have you met him before?' asked Harry.

'Once. It was during my custody hearing. The ministry wanted me to go to a family member. Narcissa, Malfoy's mom, wanted me to go and live with her. She only had Draco and wanted a daughter. Andy, her sister, wanted me to either stay with her or with Uncle Remus. Uncle Remus wanted me to stay with him or Andy. My grandmother, before she died, wanted me to stay within the family that she approved of. So, she didn't want me to stay with Andy or Uncle Remus. She wanted me to grow up and be the perfect little Slytherin pureblood. She didn't know that I'm really a half-blood. In the end I stayed with Uncle Remus. It said in my mom's will that if something were to happen to her, that Uncle Remus would gain custody of me, and if something happened to him, Andy would get custody of me. It also helped that Dumbledore was there and fought against my grandmother and Narcissa. I met Lucius Malfoy during that time. He fought well with the minister. He tried to bride him with some money to get me, but Dumbledore was there and saw right through him.'

'So, you almost lived with Malfoy?' said Harry, trying to imagine Arabella acting like Malfoy.

'Yeah, pretty much,' said Arabella. She started to laugh. 'Imagine me all snooty and Malfoy like. Do you think I could pull it off?'

'Probably not. Too much Gryffindor in you,' said Harry, laughing a bit.

'You're right,' said Arabella, who became a bit gloomy.

'What else is bothering you?' asked Harry, noticing the change in her mood.

Arabella sighed and looked at Harry. She was debating whether or not to open to him. She decided that it would be ok to talk to him.

'Sometimes I would think that I really would turn into them. I'm scared of that. Turning into my family. They've done some really horrible things. I don't want to be like that,' said Arabella, looking a bit miserable.

'You're not. I don't know what they've done, but you're not. You've got your uncles and aunt. You've got Hermione and the Weasleys with you. And you've got me. We'll always be there for you. Remember when Mr Weasley first met you? He didn't care about your last name. He remembered your mother and said that you looked like her. Mrs Weasley likes you, so does Fred, George and Ginny. You won't become like them,' said Harry, trying to make her feel better.

'You're right,' said Arabella, smiling towards him. She stood up and placed her mug in the sink. She walked back towards Harry and gave him a hug.

'Thank you,' said Arabella, still hugging Harry.

'No problem,' said Harry, patting her back.

She let go of Harry and gave him one last smile before heading upstairs to bed. Harry watched her leave before he headed upstairs towards Ron's room, forgetting that he was hungry.

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :)**


	4. The Whomping Willow

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella. **

**Enjoy! Hope you like it :)**

The Whomping Willow

'Let's go together, we've only got a minute or two,' Ron said to Harry and Arabella.

'You both go first. I'll be right behind,' said Arabella, making sure that all her belongings were there. Shay was still delivering the letter to Remus.

Harry made sure that his owl was safely on top of his trunks and faced the barrier. They broke into a small run towards the barrier, gathering speed each step. They were a few feet away from it and –

CRASH.

Both trolleys hit the barrier and bounced backwards.

'Harry! Ron!' said Arabella, crouching next to them on the floor. 'Are you alright? Did you hurt yourselves?'

'What the blazes d'you think you're doing?' yelled a guard nearby.

'Lost control of the trolley,' Harry gasped, clutching his ribs as Arabella helped him up.

'Why can't we get through?' Harry hissed to Ron and Arabella.

'I don't understand why it's sealed itself. We have a couple seconds left,' said Arabella, putting her hands on the barrier and pushing on it.

Harry looked up at the giant clock with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Ten seconds… nine seconds...

Harry and Ron were also starting to push on the barrier with Arabella.

Three seconds… two seconds… one second…

'It's gone,' said Ron, sounding stunned. 'The train's left. What if Mum and Dad can't get back through us? Have either of you got any Muggle money?'

'Mine's all magical,' said Arabella, resting her head and her hands on the barrier.

'The Dursleys haven't given me pocket money for about six years,' said Harry, giving a hollow laugh.

'What do we do? I don't know how long it'll take Mum and Dad to get back to us.'

They looked around. People were still watching them, mainly because of Hedwig's continuing screeches.

'I think we'd better go and wait by the car,' said Harry. 'We're attracting too many attent –'

'The car!' said Ron, his eyes gleaming.

'What about it?'

'We can fly the car to Hogwarts!'

'Have you gone mad?! We can just _fly _a car to Hogwarts! The amount of laws we would be breaking!' exclaimed Arabella, throwing her hands in the air.

'We're not using magic and we've got to get to school, haven't we? And even underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it's a real emergency, section nineteen or something of the Restriction of Thingy –'

'Of course! We're going to use magic because of the 'Restriction of Thingy'!' said Arabella, rolling her eyes.

'But your mum and dad…' said Harry, ignoring Arabella. 'How will they get home?'

'They don't need the car!' said Ron. 'They know how to Apparate! You know, just vanish and appear at home! They only bother with Floo powder and the car because we're all underage and we're not allowed to Apparate yet…'

Harry's feeling of panic turned suddenly to excitement. He turned to Arabella, who was torn between excitement and concern. Harry nudged her.

'It'll be fine,' he said.

'Fine,' she said reluctantly.

'Can you fly it?'

'No problem,' said Ron, wheeling his trolley around to face the exit. 'C'mon, let's go. If we hurry we'll be able to follow the Hogwarts Express –'

'Doesn't it have some invisibility booster or something?' asked Arabella, not wanting to get caught.

They marched off through the crowd of curious Muggles, out of the station and back onto the side road where the old Ford was parked.

Ron unlocked the trunk with a series of taps from his wand. They put their luggage in it and put Hedwig on the back seat. Ron took the driver's seat with Harry in the passenger's seat. Arabella was in the back with Hedwig.

'Check that no one's watching,' said Ron, starting the ignition and another tap of his wand. Harry and Arabella stuck their heads out of the windows. There was traffic along the main road ahead, but other than the street was empty.

'Okay,' they said.

Ron pressed a tiny silver button on the dashboard. The car around them vanished – and so did they.

'Let's go,' said Ron from his right.

And the ground and the dirty buildings on either side fell away, dropping out of sight as the car rose; in seconds, the whole of London was below them.

Then there was a popping noise and the car, Harry, Ron and Arabella reappeared.

'What happened?' said Arabella, looking around her in panic.

'It's faulty,' said Ron, jabbing at the Invisibility Booster.

Both Ron and Harry pummeled it. The car vanished. Then it flickered back again.

'Hold on!' Ron yelled, and he slammed his foot on the accelerator; they shot straight into the low clouds and everything turned dull and foggy.

'Now what?' said Harry, blinking at the solid mass of cloud pressing in on them from all sides.

'We need to see the train to know what direction to go in,' said Ron.

They dropped back beneath the clouds and twisted around in their seats, squinting at the ground.

'There it is!' Arabella yelled. 'I can see it – right there!'

The Hogwarts Express was streaking along below them like a scarlet snake.

'Due north,' said Ron, checking the compass on the dashboard. 'Okay, we'll just have to check on it every half hour or so – hold on –'

And they shot up through the clouds. A minute later, they burst out into a blaze of sunlight.

It was a different world. The wheels of the car skimmed the sea of fluffy cloud, the sky a bright, endless blue under the blinding white sun.

'All we've got to worry about now are airplanes,' said Ron.

'Of course that's the only thing we have to worry about,' mumbled Arabella from the back, with the tiniest hint of a smile

The three of them looked at each other and laughed/ for the longest time, they couldn't stop.

Several hours later, some of the fun was wearing off. They all pulled off their sweaters. Arabella's shirt was sticking to the back of her seat and she kept wiping her forehead every ten minutes.

'Can't be much further, can it?' croaked Ron, hours later, as the sun started to set. 'Ready for another check on the train?'

'It's still there,' said Arabella, looking out the window and wiping her forehead.

Ron put his foot on the accelerator and drove them upward again, but as he did so, the engine began to whine.

Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glance. Arabella started to panic again.

'What was that?' she said.

'It's probably just tired,' said Ron. 'It's never been this far before…'

And they pretended not to notice the whining growing louder and louder as the sky became darker. Harry pulled his sweater back on, trying to notice the windshield wipers waving freely, as though in protest. Arabella closed her eyes, trying to block out all the signs saying that this is going to end bad.

'Not far,' said Ron, more to the car than to Harry and Arabella, 'not far now,' and he patted the dashboard nervously.

When they flew back beneath the clouds a little while later, they had to squint through the darkness for a landmark they knew.

'There!' Harry shouted, making Ron, Arabella and Hedwig jump. 'Straight ahead!'

Silhouetted on the dark horizon, high on the cliff over the lake, stood the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle.

But the car had begun to shudder and was losing speed.

'Come on' Ron said, giving the steering wheel a little shake, 'nearly there, come on –'

The engine groaned. Narrow jets of steam were issuing from under the hood. Harry and Arabella were gripping the edges of their seat very hard as they flew towards the lake.

The car gave a nasty wobble.

'Come on,' Ron muttered.

They were over the lake – the castle was right ahead – Ron put his foot down.

There was a loud clunk, a splatter, and the engine died completely.

'Uh-oh,' said Ron, into the silence.

The nose of the car dropped. They were falling, gathering speed, heading straight for the solid castle wall.

'Noooooo!' Ron yelled. He let go of the steering wheel completely and pulled his wand out of his back pocket –

'STOP! STOP!' he yelled, whacking the dashboard and the windshield, but they were still plummeting, the ground flying up toward them –

'WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!' Harry bellowed, lunging for the steering wheel, but too late –

CRUNCH.

Arabella let out a scream as they hit the tree trunk and dropped to the ground with a heavy jolt. Ron let out a low, despairing groan.

'Are you okay?' said Harry urgently.

'I think so,' said Arabella, rubbing the back of her head.

'My wand,' said Ron, in a shaky voice. 'Look at my wand –'

It had snapped, almost in two.

Something hit the car at Harry's side with the force of a charging bull, sending Harry lurching sideways into Ron. Arabella's was thrown onto the other side of the window with Hedwig in between them.

'What's happen -?'

Ron and Arabella gasped, staring through the windshield. Harry turned around just in time to see the branch smash into it. Arabella gave another shout.

'Run for it!' Ron shouted, throwing his full weight against his door, but the next second he had been knocked backward into Harry's lap by an uppercut from another branch.

'We're done for!' he moaned as the ceiling sagged, but suddenly the floor of the car was vibrating – the engine had restarted.

'Reverse!' screamed Arabella, and the car shot backward. The tree was still trying to hit them. They could hear its roots creaking as it almost ripped itself up, lashing as they sped out of reach.

'That,' panted Ron, 'was close. Well done, car –'

The car, however, had reached the end of its tether. With two sharp clunks, the doors flew open and their seats tipped sideways. Ron and Harry were thrown out of the car on to the damp ground. They quickly got up as the back doors opened.

Arabella and Hedwig were thrown out of the car. Ron managed to catch Hedwig before he landed on the ground. Arabella landed onto of Harry just as he was about to sidestep her.

'Umph – sorry Harry,' said Arabella, unmoved.

'It's fine,' said Harry, blushing.

Arabella got up just as the car gave an angry screech and sped off toward the castle without a backward look.

'Come back!' Ron yelled after it, brandishing his broken wand. 'Dad'll kill me!'

But the car disappeared from view with one last snort from its exhaust.

'Can you believe our luck?' said Ron miserably, bending down to pick up Scabbers. 'Off all the trees we could've hit, we had to get the one that hits back.'

Arabella suddenly doubled over. She ran towards their left and spilled out the contents of her stomach. Harry and Ron waited for her until she was done, giving her some privacy. She came back a moment later, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

'You okay?' asked Harry, rubbing her right shoulder blade.

'Yeah, I'm fine. My stomach couldn't take it anymore,' said Arabella.

'Come on,' said Harry, 'we'd better get up to the school…'

They seized the ends of their trunks and began to drag them up the grassy slope towards the front doors.

'I think the feast's already started,' said Ron, dropping his trunk at the foot of the front steps and crossing quietly to look through a brightly lit window. 'Hey – Harry, Arabella – come and look – it's the sorting!'

They hurried over and, together, they peered in at the Great Hall.

'Hang on…' Harry muttered to Ron and Arabella. 'There's an empty chair at the staff table… Where's Snape?'

'Guys,' whispered Arabella, but they didn't hear her.

'Maybe he's ill!' said Ron hopefully.

'Maybe he's left,' said Harry, 'because he missed out on the Defense Against the Dark Arts job again!'

'Guys!' said Arabella looking behind them.

'What?' said Harry and Ron, turning around. There stood Severus Snape. He was smiling in a way that told them they were in trouble.

'Or maybe,' he said in a very cold voice, 'he's waiting to hear why you two didn't arrive on the school train.'

He continued to stare at them and smiling.

'Follow me,' said Snape.

Harry, Ron and Arabella followed Snape up the stairs into the vast, echoing entrance hall. Snape led them down a narrow stone staircase that led into the dungeons.

'In!' he said, opening a door halfway down the cold passageway and pointing.

They entered Snape's office, shivering. Snape closed the door and turned to look at them.

'So,' he said softly, 'the train isn't good enough for the famous Harry Potter and his faithful sidekick, Weasley. And who could forget about his girlfriend, Arabella Black. Wanted to arrive with a bang there, did we?'

'No, sir, it was the barrier at King's Cross, it –'

'Silence!' said Snape coldly. 'What have you done with the car?'

Ron gulped. Arabella grabbed onto Harry's arm, clutching the life out of it. A moment later Snape unrolled today's issue of the _Evening Prophet. _

'You were seen,' he hissed, showing them the headline: _FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES_. He began to read aloud: 'Two Muggles in London, convinced they saw an old car flying over the Post Office tower… at noon in Norfolk, Mrs Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out her washing… Mr Angus Fleet, of Peebles, reported to police… Six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?' he said, looking up at Ron and smiling still more nastily. 'Dear dear… his own son…'

Arabella continued to grip his arm. He was sure that there were going to be some bruise there when he looked later.

'I noticed, in my search of the park, that considerable damage seems to have been done to a very valuable Whomping Willow,' Snape went on.

'That tree did more damage to us than we – ' Ron blurted out. Arabella stomped on his foot.

'Silence!' snapped Snape. 'Most unfortunately, you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that power. You will wait here.'

Harry, Ron and Arabella looked at each other, white-faced.

Ten minutes later, Snape returned, and accompanying him was Professor McGonagall. She raised her wand the moment she entered. They flinched, but she merely pointed it at the empty fireplace, where flames suddenly erupted.

'Sit' she said, and they backed into chairs by the fire.

'Explain,' she said.

Ron launched into the story, starting with the barrier at the station refusing to let them through.

' – so we had no choice, Professor, we couldn't get on the train.'

'Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? I believe you have an owl?' Professor McGonagall said coldly to Harry.

Harry gaped at her. He could hear Arabella faintly swear under hear breath. Now that she said it that seemed the obvious thing to have done.

'I – I didn't think –'

'That,' said Professor McGonagall, 'is obvious.'

There was a knock on the office door and Snape, now looking happier than ever, opened it. There stood Professor Dumbledore.

'Please explain why you did this,' he said gravely, looking at them.

This time Arabella told the story, not looking him in the eye. When she finish, he continued to per at them through his spectacles.

'We'll go and get our stuff,' said Ron in a hopeless sort of voice.

'What are you talking about, Weasley?' barked Professor McGonagall.

'Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?' said Ron.

'Not today, Mr Weasley,' said Dumbledore. 'But I must impress upon both of you the seriousness of what you have done. O will be writing to both your families tonight. I must also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you.'

'Professor Dumbledore, these boys and girl have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, cause serious damage to an old and valuable tree – surly acts of this nature –' said Snape.

"It will be for Professor McGonagall to decide on their punishments, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "They are in her House and are therefore her responsibility." He turned to Professor McGonagall. "I must go back to the feast, Minerva, I've got to give out a few notices. Come, Severus, there's a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample —"

Snape left them alone with Professor McGonagall.

'Professor, I wanted to watch my sister being Sorted –'

'The Sorting Ceremony is over,' said Professor McGonagall. 'Your sister is also in Gryffindor.'

'Oh, good,' said Ron.

"And speaking of Gryffindor —" Professor McGonagall said sharply, but Arabella interrupted her, speaking for the first time since they entered the room.

'But Professor, we took the car when term didn't start. So, Gryffindor don't really have to lose any points, should it?'

'I will not take any points from Gryffindor, but you three will get detentions,' she said.

Professor McGonagall raised her wand again and pointed it at Snape's desk. A large plate of sandwiches, three silver goblets, and a jug of iced pumpkin juice appeared with a pop.

'You'll eat in here and then go straight up to your dormitory,' she said. 'I must return to the feast.'

When the door had closed behind her, Ron let out a long, low whistle.

'I thought we'd had it,' he said grabbing a sandwich.

'So did I,' said Harry, taking one, too. 'You ok?' he asked Arabella.

'Yeah…' she said, taking a sandwich, looking pale.

'You're not going to throw up again, are you?' asked Ron.

'No…' said Arabella.

'What's wrong?' said Harry.

'Dumbledore's going to write to Uncle Remus. Uncle Remus is going to tell Andy. I'm not looking forward to their reactions,' she said.

They continued to eat as many sandwiches as they could. They got up from their seat and left the office, walking to Gryffindor Tower.

'Password?' said the Gryffindor portrait.

'Er –' said Harry.

They didn't know the new year's password, not having met a Gryffindor prefect yet, but help came almost immediately; they heard hurrying feet behind them and turned to see Hermione dashing toward them.

"There you are! Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumors — someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car —"

'We're not expelled,' said Arabella.

'You're telling me you did fly here?' said Hermione, sounding severe.

'Skip the lecture,' said Ron impatiently, 'and tell us the new password.'

'It's 'wattlebird,'' said Hermione impatiently, 'but that's not the point –'

Her words were cut short as the portrait of the fat lady swung open and there was a sudden storm of clapping. It looked as though the whole of Gryffindor House was still awake, packed into the common room, waiting for them to arrive. Arms reached through the portrait hole to pull Harry, Ron and Arabella inside, leaving Hermione to scramble in after them.

'Brilliant!' yelled Lee Jordan.

'Good for you,' said a fifth year they didn't know.

Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the crowd and said together, 'Why couldn't we've come in the car, eh?'

'You weren't invited,' said Arabella, with a smile.

'And why is that?' said Fred.

Arabella shrugged and went up to her dormitory, laughing. Harry watched her until he couldn't see her anymore. He then noticed the one person that wasn't happy at all, Percy. Harry nudged Ron and pointed at him. He got the point.

They managed to get to the other side of the common room and walked up the staircase to their old dormitory, smiling all the way.

* * *

Arabella entered her dormitory that she shared with Hermione, Lavender and Parvati. She started to get dressed for bed when Hermione entered, looking angry.

'Hey, what's wrong?' said Arabella, even though she knew the answer.

'What's wrong?' said Hermione, with her arms crossed. 'You flew a car to Hogwarts! That's what's wrong! It was irresponsible! You could have been seriously hurt!'

'But we're fine – '

'You could have been seen!' said Hermione, throwing her hands in the air.

Arabella didn't open her mouth to tell her that they were. It was better to let Hermione let it all out.

'I'm very disappointed with you,' said Hermione, before she changed into her pyjamas.

Arabella nodded, not wanting to continue in this argument.

Hermione went to bed without saying another word to Arabella.

Arabella sighed. _I bet Harry and Ron aren't getting this from their roommates. Things will probably be better tomorrow. _

**Thank you for reading! Hope you like it :) **


	5. Gilderoy Lockhart

**disclaimer: I only own Arabella and her story. **

**Enjoy! Hope you like it :)**

Gilderoy Lockhart

The next morning Shay returned to Arabella, carrying four letters with him.

'Arabella, isn't that Shay?' said Harry, pointing at the only grey owl there.

Arabella groaned. Shay landed in front of her, sticking his legs out and nibbling on some bacon. She took the letters from his legs and stroked him a little before he went off.

She reached out for the first letter, it was from Remus.

_Arabella Black,_

_I am very disappointed in you. Driving to school in a car? Have you gone mad? Where's your common sense? You could have just sent Professor McGonagall a letter. NOT drive a car to Hogwarts! You could have died! You could have been seen! The Whomping Willow could have severely hurt you! What were you thinking?! You are never doing that again. You will make sure you are on the train to Hogwarts from now onwards, even if I have to be there the whole train ride. We will have a talk when you come back home. _

_Remus_

The second letter was also from Remus, probably the one he was going to send her before he heard the news.

_Ara,_

_Shay seems nice. He looks different from the other owls; I thought that you might get something other than brown. I glad to hear that you have a good time at the Weasleys and had fun with Fred and George. Give Gilderoy Lockhart a try; he might not be so bad. Ignore anything Lucius Malfoy, he more trouble than he's worth. _

_Hope you're okay. I love you too. _

_Moony_

Arabella read the two letters a couple times. It wasn't too bad. At least he was angry. Angry werewolves are scary. She picked up the third letter, surprised that it wasn't a Howler. It was from Andy.

_ARABELLA KASSANDRA BLACK _

_How could you? Driving a car to Hogwarts?! When I heard the news from Professor Dumbledore, I almost had ANOTHER heart attack! You're giving me more grey hairs than Nymphadora! What were you thinking?! Were you thinking? I am very angry at you! You could have died! Is that what you want? To die OR give me a heart attack? Because one of its working! We are going to have a VERY LONG talk when you get back. You are lucky that I'm not coming there and giving you a piece of my mind right now! _

_Andromeda Black_

Arabella gulped and paled slightly. It was just as effective as a Howler.

'Are you okay?' asked Harry, watching Arabella.

'Yeah, it's just Andy's letter. I'm a bit scared of her,' said Arabella, picking up the fourth letter. It was from Ted and Nymphadora.

_Arabella, _

_Good entrance. I couldn't put this with Andy's letter or she'll yell at me. Don't tell this to her or Remus, but I was slightly happy that you did that, and you're still safe. It's just my mischievous side speaking. Me and Dora started to laugh when we heard the news. We imagined you riding in a convertible car with a leather jacket and sunglasses, getting lost and ending somewhere in Canada or something. _

_Anyway, don't worry about Andy's letter too much. She's happy that you're alive. She's just wants you to be safe, that's all. She was really close to sending you a Howler, but me and Dora managed to convince her otherwise. Hope you're okay and that the Willow didn't hurt you too much. _

_Ted_

The second half of the letter was from Nymph.

_Arabella, _

_My little daredevil. I'm so proud of you. Driving to school in a car, making a big entrance in front of everyone. How was Snape's face? You have to tell me everything. I always hated him. He almost failed me in Potions because I made a couple jokes in his class. Me and dad started to laugh when we heard. Mom was fuming. If she could, she would have breathed fire at that moment. It looked like smoke was coming out of her ears. _

_Don't worry, Mom still loves you. Me and dad convinced her not to send you a Howler. You owe us big time. _

_Tonks_

There was also a little drawing of what seemed to be Andy, but she's a dragon. There was smoke coming out of her ears and mouth. It was a bad drawing.

Arabella let out a sign of relief. Not too bad. Just have to worry about Andy the most. Remus won't be so bad.

'Errol!' said Ron, bringing her back to what's going around her. There was a red envelope in his beak.

'Oh, no – ' Ron gasped. Arabella's eyes widened at the sight.

'It's all right, he's still alive,' said Hermione, prodding Errol gently with the tip of her fingers.

'It's not that – it's that.'

Ron was pointing at the red envelope. Harry thought that it looked ordinary, but Ron, Arabella and Neville were both looking at it as though they expected it to explode.

'What's the matter?' said Harry.

'It's a Howler,' whispered Arabella, as though it was the most horrible word in the world.

'You better open it, Ron,' said Neville. 'It'll be worse if you don't. My gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and' – he gulped – 'it was horrible.'

Harry looked at their petrified faces to the red envelope.

'What's a Howler?' he said.

'You'll find out,' said Arabella.

'Open it,' Neville urged. 'I'll be over in a few minutes – '

Ron stretched out a shaking hand, took the envelope from his beak and slit it open. Neville stuffed his fingers in his ears. Arabella ducked underneath the table. A few seconds later, Harry knew why. He thought for a moment it had exploded; a roar of sound filled the huge hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.

'— STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE —'

Mrs Weasley's yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made the plates and spoons rattle on the table, and echoed off the stone walls.

'— LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU, HARRY AND ARABELLA COULD HAVE DIED —'

Harry had been wondering when his and Arabella's names was going to crop up. He tried very hard to look as though he couldn't hear the voice that was making his eardrums throb.

'— ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME.'

A ringing silence fell. The red envelope burst into flames and curled into ashes. Harry and Ron sat stunned. Arabella came from under the table, looking shaken up. Hermione closed _Voyages with Vampires _and looked down at the top of Ron's head.

'Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you —'

'Don't tell me I deserved it,' snapped Ron.

'Well, you do,' said Hermione. She turned to Arabella, 'did you get anything from your uncle or aunt?'

She showed Hermione the letters from Remus and Andy, leaving out Ted and Nymph's. Hermione nodded in satisfaction and making some comments here and there approvingly.

Professor McGonagall was moving along the Gryffindor table, handing out course schedules. They took theirs and saw that they had double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs first.

Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione left the castle together, crossed the vegetable patch, and made for the greenhouses, where the magical plant were kept. At least the Howler had done one good thing: Hermione seemed to think they had now been punished enough and was being perfectly friendly again.

They were waiting outside the classroom for Professor Sprout when she came from across the lawn, with Gilderoy Lockhart.

'Oh, hello there!' called Lockhart, beaming around at the assembled students. 'Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels…'

'Greenhouse three today, chaps!' said Professor Sprout. Not her usual cheery self.

Harry was about to follow Ron, Arabella and Hermione inside when Lockhart's hand shot out.

'Harry! I've been wanting a word – you don't mind if he's a couple minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?'

* * *

'What he doing to Harry?' said Arabella, looking at Harry and Lockhart through the window. They took their seats in front of some plants and waited for the lesson to start.

'Dunno,' said Ron. 'I don't like him. Seems like a phony.'

'How could you say that? The things he has done!' said Hermione.

Ron and Arabella opened their mouths to say something about Lockhart when, Harry opened the door and slid inside. Harry took his place between Ron and Arabella.

'What did he want?' whispered Arabella.

'Later,' he said, just as Professor Sprout began her lesson.

'We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?'

To nobody's surprise, Hermione's hand was the first into the air. So was Arabella's and she rarely participated.

'Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative,' said Hermione, sounding as usual as though she had swallowed the textbook. 'It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state.'

'Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor,' said Professor Sprout. 'The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?'

Hermione's hand almost scratched Arabella's face as it shot up, but Professor Sprout pick Arabella's hand instead.

'The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anybody that hears it,' said Arabella, scooting a bit away from Hermione.

'Precisely. Take another ten points,' said Professor Sprout. 'Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young.'

She pointed to a row of deep trays as she spoke, and everyone shuffled forward for a better look. A hundred or so tufty little plants, purplish green in color, were growing there in rows. They looked quite unremarkable to Harry, who didn't have the slightest idea what Arabella meant by the 'cry' of the Mandrake.

'Everybody take a pair of earmuffs,' said Professor Sprout.

There was a scramble as everyone tried to seize a pair that wasn't pink and fluffy. Arabella was the only one that took one of those.

'When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered,' said Professor Sprout. 'When it is safe to remove then, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right – earmuffs on.'

The all snapped their earmuffs over their ears. The sound was completely shut out.

Professor Sprout grasped one of the plants firmly and pulled hard. Instead of roots, a small, muddy, and extremely ugly baby popped out of the earth. Professor Sprout took a large pot from under the table and plunged the Mandrake into it, burying in it, leaving the leaves visible. She gave them all the thumbs up and removed her own earmuffs.

'As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet,' she said calmly as though she'd just done nothing more exciting than water a begonia. 'However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up.

'Five to a tray — there is a large supply of pots here — compost in the sacks over there — and be careful of the Venomous Tentacula, it's teething.'

Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione were joined at their tray by a curly-haired Hufflepuff boy Harry knew by sight but never spoken to.

'Justin Finch-Fletchley,' he said brightly, shaking Harry by the hand. 'Know who you are, of course, the famous Harry Potter… And you're Arabella Black and Hermione Granger – always top in everything and Ron Weasley. Wasn't that your flying car?'

'That Lockhart's something, isn't he?' said Justin happily. 'Awfully brave chap. Have you read his books? I'd have died of fear if I'd been cornered in a telephone booth by a werewolf, but he stayed cool and – zap – just fantastic.'

'My name was down for Eton, you know. I can't tell you how glad I am I came here instead. Of course, Mother was slightly disappointed, but since I made her read Lockhart's books I think she's begun to see how useful it'll be to have a fully trained wizard in the family. . . .'

After that they didn't have much chance to talk. Their earmuffs were back on and they needed to concentrate on the Mandrakes.

By the end of the class, everybody was sweaty, aching and covered in earth. They went back to the castle for a quick wash before heading to Transfiguration.

* * *

'What've got this afternoon?' said Harry, when they went down to lunch.

'Defence Against the Dark Arts,' said Hermione at once.

'Why,' demanded Ron, seizing her schedule, 'have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?'

Hermione tried to snatch her schedule back, but Arabella was faster. She took one look at it and was laughing so much that tears started to come out of her eyes. Hermione managed to get back, blushing furiously.

They finished lunch and went outside into the courtyard. Hermione sat down on a stone step and buried her nose in _Voyages with Vampires _again. Harry, Ron and Arabella stood talking about Quidditch for several minutes before Harry became aware that he was being watched.

He looked up and saw a very small, mousy-haired boy. He was clutching a Muggle camera, and when Harry looked at him, he went bright red.

'All right, Harry? I'm – I'm Colin Creevey,' he said breathlessly, taking a step forward. 'I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think – would it be all right if – can I take a picture?' he said, raising his camera up hopefully.

'A picture?' Harry repeated.

'So I can prove I've met you,' said Colin eagerly. 'I know all about you. Everybody's told me. I'm a Muggle-born, so I'm taking lots of pictures to send home. And it'd be really good if I had one of you, maybe one of your friends could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?'

'Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?'

Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin with his large cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

Everybody line up!' Malfoy roared to the crowd. 'Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!'

'Shut up Malfoy,' said Arabella.

'You're just jealous,' piped up Colin.

'Jealous?' said Malfoy. 'Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself.'

'Eat slugs, Malfoy,' sneered Ron.

'Be careful, Weasley,' sneered Malfoy. 'You don't want to start any trouble or your mommy'll have to come and take you away from school.' He put on a shrill, piercing voice. 'If you put another toe out of line –'

A group of Slytherin fifth years nearby laughed loudly at this.

'Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter,' smirked Malfoy. 'Better yet, Black's godfather would like one, he doesn't do anything anyway. It'll be the most he's ever earned in his life.'

Arabella made her way towards Malfoy, but Harry and Ron managed to hold her back.

'Let go of me,' said Arabella, struggling against them. She turned to Malfoy. 'Don't ever speak about him like that! You don't know anything about him! He's worth twenty of you!'

'Is he now?' sneered Malfoy. 'He's nothing. My father told me all about him –'

'And I can tell you things about your father that'll make your hair curl with grease,' said Arabella through her teeth, looking furious.

'What's all this, what's all this?' Gilderoy Lockhart was striding towards them. Harry and Ron let go of Arabella.

'Harry Potter's giving out signed photos, Professor,' said Malfoy quickly.

'Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!'

Pinned to Lockhart's side and burning with humiliation, Harry saw Malfoy slide smirking back into the crowd.

'Come on then, Mr Creevey,' said Lockhart. 'A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you.'

Colin took the picture just as the bell rang.

'Off you go, move along there,' Lockhart called out the crowd.

'A word to the wise, Harry,' said Lockhart as they entered the building through the side door. 'I covered up for you back there with young Creevey – if he was photographing me, too, your schoolmates won't think you're setting yourself up so much…'

They had reached Lockhart's classroom and he let Harry go at last. The rest of the class came clattering in. Ron and Arabella sat beside Harry, with Hermione sitting beside Arabella.

Harry nudged Arabella, who had a scowl on her face.

'You okay?' he whispered, so that the others won't hear.

'No. I want to punch Malfoy in the face,' she whispered back.

When the whole class was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and silence fell. He reached forward, picked up Neville's copy of _Travels with Trolls, _and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front.

'Me,' he said, pointing to it and winking as well. 'Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's _Most Charming Smile Award – but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!'

He waited for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books — well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about — just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in —"

When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes — start — now!"

Harry looked down at her paper and read:

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to:

54. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?

Arabella was having a fun time making up ridiculous answers.

Favourite Colour? _Pink, mixed with green and yellow with a hint of blue. _Secret Ambition? _To create a hair product that will make people's hair feel like silk on a rainy day. _Greatest Achievement? _Figuring out how to actually something. _Ideal Gift? _Lipstick that would make women jealous. _And so on...

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class.

"Tut, tut — hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully — I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples — though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!"

He gave them another wink. Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face; Seamus and Dean were shaking with silent laughter. Arabella was having a hard time hold in her laughter, too. Hermione was the only one that was listening to Lockhart with attention.

'… but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil. Good girl! Full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?'

Hermione raised a trembling hand.

'Excellent!' beamed Lockhart. 'Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! Also, Miss Arabella Black also knew that it was my ambition to create a hair product, though whether or not it would feel like silk is still unknown. Where is Miss Arabella Black?'

Arabella, shocked, raised her hand, barely above her head.

'Excellent Miss Black! Ten points for Gryffindor! Also, I think you might have misread one of the questions about my ideal gift. It was the ideal gift for _me_. So, lipstick won't do, especially ones that would make women jealous! And so – to business -'

He gave a small laugh, while Seamus and Dean burst out laughing. Lockhart ignored them and continued on.

He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage on to it.

'Now – be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Known only that no harm can be fall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm.'

Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus stopped laughing now. Neville was cowering in his seat.

'I must ask you not to scream,' said Lockhart in a low voice. 'It might provoke them.'

As the whole class held its breath, Lockhart whipped off the cover.

'Yes,' he said dramatically. 'Freshly caught Cornish pixies.'

Seamus couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror.

'Yes?' He smiled to Seamus.

'Well, they're not – they're not very – dangerous, are they?' Seamus choked.

'Don't be so sure!' said Lockhart, waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus. 'Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!'

'Right, then' Lockhart said loudly. 'Let's see what you make of them!' and he opened the cage.

The pixies shot out in every direction like rockets. Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. They wrecked the classroom. The grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, tore pictures from the wall, up-ended the waste basket, grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window. Half the class was under their desks and Neville was swinging from the iron chandelier in the ceiling.

'Come on now – round then up, round them up, they're only pixies,' Lockhart shouted.

He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed, '_Peskipiksi Pesternomi_!'

'You have got to be kidding me!' said Arabella, putting her hand on her head.

The spell had absolutely no effect. One of the pixies seized his wand and threw it out of the window, too. Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk.

The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit. Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione, who were almost at the door, and said, 'Well, I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage.' He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.

'Can you believe him?' roared Ron as one of the remaining pixies bit him playfully on the ar.

'He just wants to give us some hands-on experience,' said Hermione, immobilizing two pixies at once with a clever Freezing Charm and stuffing them back into their cage.

'Hands on?' said Harry.

'Hermione, he didn't have a clue about what he was doing,' said Arabella.

'Rubbish,' said Hermione. 'You've read his books – look at all those amazing things he's done – '

'He says he's done,' Ron muttered.

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :)**


	6. Mudbloods and Talks

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella. **

**Enjoy! Hope you like it :)**

Mudbloods and Talks

Arabella woke up Saturday morning to Hermione shaking her.

'Wheresthefire?' she said sleepily.

'It's time to get up. You don't want to waste the whole day in bed,' said Hermione, changing into jeans and a sweater.

'Yes, I do,' mumbled Arabella, burying her head under her pillow.

Hermione turned to Arabella and smiled wickedly. She grabbed a hold of Arabella's legs and pulled her out of the bed in one tug.

'Ah – what was that for?' exclaimed Arabella, glaring at Hermione.

'Get up,' said Hermione.

Arabella stuck her tongue out and buried her head again under her pillow, sleeping on the floor.

Hermione walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She went back to their beds and grabbed Arabella's legs again.

'Where are you taking me?' groaned Arabella, half a sleep.

Hermione continued to drag her towards the washroom. Arabella, more alert now, heard the running water.

'Hermione, I swear, if you – Hermione –HERMIONE!'

Hermione pushed Arabella into the icy cold water and walked off. Twenty minutes later Arabella came back and continued to glare at her. She took a shower, seeing as she was already there.

'I will have my revenge,' said Arabella, changing her clothes.

'Go ahead,' said Hermione, smirking.

After Arabella got dressed, she and Hermione met Ron in the common room.

'What took you so long?' asked Ron.

'Hermione pushed me into cold water,' said Arabella. Ron started to laugh.

'It's not funny!' said Arabella hotly.

'It kind of is,' said Hermione, smiling.

'Let's just go and get Harry,' mumbled Arabella, walking towards the portrait hole. Hermione and Ron were walking behind her.

'Let's go to the Great Hall first and get some food,' said Hermione.

'I don't think Harry's eaten yet. They left early for Quidditch practice,' said Ron.

* * *

'Aren't you finished yet?' called Ron.

'Haven't even started,' said Harry, looking jealously at eh toast, marmalade and bacon Ron, Hermione and Arabella had brought. 'Wood's been teaching us new moves.'

He mounted his broom and kicked at the ground.

'What's that funny clicking noise?' called Fred.

Harry looked at the stands. Colin was sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, taking picture after picture, the sound strangely magnified in the stadium.

'Look this way, Harry! This way!' he cried shrilly.

'Who's that?' said Fred.

'No idea,' Harry lied.

'What's going on?' said Wood, frowning, flying towards them. 'Why's that first year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program.'

'He's in Gryffindor,' said Harry quickly.

'And the Slytherin don't need a spy, Oliver,' said George.

'What makes you say that?' said Wood.

'Because they're here in person,' said George, pointing.

Several people in green robes were walking onto the field, broomsticks in hands.

'I don't believe it!' Wood hissed in outrage. 'I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!'

Wood shot toward the ground, landing rather harder than he meant to in his anger, staggering slightly as he dismounted. Harry, Fred and George followed.

'Flint!' Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. 'This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!'

'Plenty of room for all of us, Wood,' said Flint.

Angelina, Alicia and Katie had come over, too. There were no girls on the Slytherin team, who stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the Gryffindors, leering to a man.

'But I booked the field!' said Wood, positively spitting with rage. 'I booked it!'

'Ah,' said Flint. 'But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. '_I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker'.'_

'You've got a new Seeker?' said Wood, distracted. 'Where?'

And from behind the six large figures before them came a seventh, smaller boy, smirking all over his face. It was Malfoy.

'Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?' said Fred, looking at Malfoy with dislike.

'Funny you should mention Draco's father,' said Flint as the whole Slytherin team smiled still more broadly. 'Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team.'

All seven of them held out their broomsticks. Seven highly polished, brand-new handles and seven sets of fine gold lettering spelling the words Nimbus Two Thousand and One gleamed under the Gryffindors' noses in the early morning sun.

'Very latest model. Only came out last month,' said Flint carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. 'I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps' — he smiled nastily at Fred and George, who were both clutching Cleansweep Fives — 'sweeps the board with them.'

None of the Gryffindor team could think of anything to say for a moment. Malfoy was smirking so broadly his cold eyes were reduced to slits.

'Oh, look,' said Flint. 'A field invasion.'

Ron, Arabella and Hermione were crossing the grass to see what was going on.

'What's happening?' Ron asked Harry.

'What's Malfoy doing here?' said Arabella, looking at Malfoy with hatred.

'I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Black,' said Malfoy, smugly. 'Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought out team.'

Ron and Arabella, gaped, openmouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him.

'Good, aren't they?' said Malfoy smoothly. But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives. I expect a museum would bid for them.

'At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy _their way in,' said Hermione sharply. '_They_ got in in pure talent.'

The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered.

'No one asked you opinion, you filthy little Mudblood,' he spat.

Harry knew at once that Malfoy had said something really bad because there was an instant uproar at his words. Fred and George had to hold on to Arabella from jumping on Malfoy, Alicia shrieked, '_How dare you_!', and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand, yelling, 'You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!' and pointed it furiously at Malfoy's face.

A large bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot out of the end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backward onto the grass.

'Ron! Ron! Are you all right?' squealed Hermione.

Ron opened his mouth to speak, bit no word came out. Instead, he gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth onto his lap.

The Slytherin team were paralyzed with laughter. Arabella, not being held by Fred and George, turned away from Ron, walked up to Malfoy and punched him in the face.

'How dare you! Hermione is more of a wizard than your whole family combined will ever be!' shrilled Arabella, looking furious at Malfoy. The whole Slytherin team stopped laughing and looked at Arabella and Malfoy with open mouths. They didn't bother helping him.

'My father will hear about this!' exclaimed Malfoy, looking furious at Arabella, holding his nose.

'Good! Tell him! Tell him about how the Black girl punched you in the face! Tell him! And make sure you spell my name right!' yelled Arabella, turning away from him and towards Ron.

'We better take him to Hagrid,' said Harry, looking at Hermione and Arabella. He and Arabella pulled Ron up by the arms, as Hermione walked beside Arabella.

'Nearly there, Ron,' said Hermione as the gamekeeper's cabin came into view. 'You'll be all right in a minute – almost there –'

They were within twenty feet of Hagrid's house when the front door opened. Lockhart emerged from the door.

'Quick, behind here,' Harry hissed as he and Arabella dragged Ron to a nearby bush. Hermione followed them, somewhat reluctantly.

"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing!" Lockhart was saying loudly to Hagrid. "If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book. I'm surprised you haven't already got one — I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, good bye!' And he strode away toward the castle.

Harry waited until Lockhart was out of sight, then pulled Ron out of the bush and up to Hagrid's front door. They knocked urgently.

Hagrid appeared at once, looking very grumpy, but his expression brightened when he saw who it was.

'Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me – come in, come in – thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again –'

Harry and Arabella supported Ron over the threshold into the one-roomed cabin, which had an enormous bed in one corner.

'Better out than in,' said Hagrid cheerfully after Harry explained what happened. He put a large basin in front of Ron. 'Get 'em all up, Ron.'

'I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop,' said Hermione, anxiously watching Ron. 'That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand –'

'What did Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?' Harry asked, scratching Fag's ears.

"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well," growled Hagrid, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot. "Like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle."

'I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job –' said Hermione.

'Hermione, he's probably the only man for the job,' said Arabella, crossing her arms.

'What do you mean?' asked Harry.

'Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now,' said Hagrid, jerking his head at Ron. 'Who was he trying ter curse?'

'Malfoy,' said Arabella, looking like she was struggling to keep her temper in. 'He called her a 'Mudblood'.'

'He didn't!' said Hagrid in outrage.

'He did,' said Hermione. 'But I don't know what it means. I could tell I was really rude, of course –'

'Rude!' said Arabella, exploding. 'It is the foulest thing you can ever call someone who's a Muggle-born. Wizard families like Malfoy's think they're better than everybody else because they're what we call pure-blood. It is the most disgusting to call someone!'

'Anyway, they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can' do,' said Hagrid proudly, making Hermione blush.

'It's a disgusting thing to call someone,' said Ron, emerging from the basin. 'Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's ridiculous. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. Look at Arabella. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out.'

He retched and ducked out of sight.

"Well, I don' blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron," said Hagrid loudly over the thuds of more slugs hitting the basin. "Bu' maybe it was a good thing yer wand backfired. 'Spect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son. Least yer not in trouble."

'But Arabella punched him,' said Harry.

'What? Yer did,' said Hagrid, looking at Arabella, shocked.

'He called her that name!' said Arabella, still looking furious. Hagrid shook his head in disbelief. 'Look, he won't say anything. Malfoy would be too embarrassed since a girl punched him. And even if Lucius does find out, he won't do anything because he'll be embarrassed that it was me who punched Malfoy.'

Hagrid nodded him head, knowing that Lucius Malfoy would be shamed by this.

'Harry,' said Hagrid suddenly. 'Gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?"

Furious, Harry wrenched his teeth apart.

"I have not been giving out signed photos," he said hotly. "If Lockhart's still spreading that around —"

But then he saw that Hagrid was laughing.

"I'm on'y jokin'," he said, patting Harry genially on the back and sending him face first into the table. "I knew yeh hadn't really. I told Lockhart yeh didn' need teh. Yer more famous than him without tryin'."

"Bet he didn't like that," said Harry, sitting up and rubbing his chin.

"Don' think he did," said Hagrid, his eyes twinkling. "An' then I told him I'd never read one o' his books an' he decided ter go. Treacle toffee, Ron?" he added as Ron reappeared.

"No thanks," said Ron weakly. "Better not risk it."

"Come an' see what I've bin growin'," said Hagrid as Harry, Arabella and Hermione finished the last of their tea.

In the small vegetable patch behind Hagrid's house were a dozen of the largest pumpkins Harry had ever seen. Each was the size of a large boulder.

"Gettin' on well, aren't they?" said Hagrid happily. "Fer the Halloween feast . . . should be big enough by then."

"What've you been feeding them?" said Harry.

Hagrid looked over his shoulder to check that they were alone.

"Well, I've bin givin' them — you know — a bit o' help —"

"An Engorgement Charm, I suppose?" said Hermione, halfway between disapproval and amusement. "Well, you've done a good job on them."

"That's what yer little sister said," said Hagrid, nodding at Ron. "Met her jus' yesterday." Hagrid looked sideways at Harry, his beard twitching. "Said she was jus' lookin' round the grounds, but I reckon she was hopin' she might run inter someone else at my house." He winked at Harry. "If yeh ask me, she wouldn' say no ter a signed —"

"Oh, shut up," said Harry. Ron snorted with laughter and the ground was sprayed with slugs. Arabella seemed to have turned her face away and blushed slightly. Hermione noticed this.

They said goodbye to Hagrid and walked back up to the castle. Ron and Harry were walking in front of Arabella and Hermione.

'So,' said Hermione, looking at Arabella with an 'I know something' smile.

'So, what?' said Arabella, eyeing Hermione. Hermione looked at Harry and Ron before turning back to Arabella.

'You like Harry,' she whispered. Arabella's eyes widened.

'No!' shouted Arabella. Harry and Ron stopped walking at turned towards them.

'Nothing. It's nothing. Keep walking,' said Arabella nervously. Harry and Ron shrugged before turning away from them and continued to walk. Arabella turned back to Hermione.

'I do not like Harry other than a friend,' whispered Arabella.

'Yes, you do,' said Hermione, knowingly. 'You blushed when Hagrid mentioned Ginny, who has a tiny crush on him, but that's different.'

'I don't have any feeling for him. Drop it,' said Arabella, hotly. They walked in the entrance hall.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Professor McGonagall came walking towards them.

'There you are, Potter – Weasley – Black,' she said. 'The three of you will do your detentions this evening.'

'What are we doing, Professor?' said Ron.

'_You _will be polishing the silver in the trophy room with Mr Filch,' said Professor McGonagall. 'And no magic, Weasley – elbow grease. Black, you will be helping Professor Sprout with some of her plants that will be later used as potion ingredients. You will help her cut and store them. And you, Potter, will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail. Eight o'clock sharp, all of you.'

Harry and Ron slouched into the Great Hall. Arabella didn't seem to mind her detention.

'Filch'll have me there all night,' said Ron. 'No magic! There must be about a hundred cups in that room. I'm no good at Muggle cleaning.'

'I'd sway anytime,' said Harry. 'I've had loads of practice with the Dursleys. Answering Lockhart's fan mail… he'll be a nightmare…'

'I like my detention,' said Arabella brightly, smiling towards them. 'It's with Professor Sprout.'

Ron and Harry gave her dirty looks before turning back to their pies.

* * *

At five minutes to eight, Arabella met Professor Sprout outside the greenhouses.

'We'll be in greenhouse one today. I have most of the plants Severus wants in there,' said Sprout nicely. Arabella nodded and followed her.

There were about twenty something plants in there. They were all on the table with some tools in front of a chair. Sprout stopped in front of the chair and motioned at Arabella to sit there.

'What wrong with your hand?' she asked Arabella. Her right hand had some purple bruising.

'Nothing,' lied Arabella. 'Hit the wall.'

Sprout looked like she bought it.

'You'll take theses plant,' said Sprout, pointing at five of them to her right, 'and cut up the leaves into little bits. You'll take these,' pointing at the ones behind the five, about seven, 'and take the roots out. You'll need the roots. And you'll take those,' pointing at the last ones to her left, 'and take the petals out and store those. Once you're done with that, there are some bottles under the table. Just store them there and I'll label it later. I'll be inside grading some papers. I'll be back in a couple hours.'

Arabella nodded as Professor Sprout walked towards the door and into the castle. She turned to the plants at her right and got to work.

* * *

Four hours later, Arabella walked up to the castle with her arms aching. At the entrance hall was Hermione, waiting for her.

'Hey,' mumbled Arabella, looking tired.

'Hey. So, what did you do?' asked Hermione, as they started to walk towards the trophy room.

'Cut up some plants and stuff,' said Arabella.

'That doesn't sound too bad.'

'They were _not _easy to cut. Some of the petals wouldn't even come out. The leaves where torture! They would barely cut. And don't get me started on the roots.'

They were near the trophy room when they saw Ron.

'Hey,' he mumbled.

'That bad, huh?' said Arabella, understanding his pain. Ron nodded as Hermione rolled her eyes at them.

'Let's go back to the common room,' said Hermione. They walked back to the common room, slowly.

They said goodnight to Ron as they entered.

The minute Arabella and Hermione entered their dormitory, Arabella jumped onto her bed. Hermione rolled her eyes again.

'Why don't you go and put your arms in cold water?' said Hermione. Arabella nodded and walked towards the washroom. He turned on cold water in the bathtub and put her arms under there. Arabella bent forward on the floor, as her muscles felt some relief and closed her eyes. Hermione came in after she dressed in her night clothes. She brought in some bandages.

'You shouldn't have punched Malfoy today,' said Hermione, looking at Arabella's right hand.

'It's fine,' said Arabella, opening her eyes a bit. 'Punching him was the best thing I did today.'

Hermione looked at her in disapproval. Arabella saw that in the corner of her eyes.

'One day, you'll punch Malfoy too and understand what I'm feeling right now,' she said. Hermione rolled her eyes again.

'So, you like Harry,' said Hermione, changing the subject. Arabella groaned.

'You're still on about that,' she said, taking her hands out of the water after it became warm.

'Yes,' said Hermione, putting some bandages on Arabella's right hand. 'I think it's cute.'

'And not going to happen,' muttered Arabella.

'I mean,' said Hermione, ignoring Arabella's comment, 'it's sweet. You both will be friends before falling in love, then when you get married you both will have six kids.'

'Six kids!' exclaimed Arabella. 'That's a bit far-fetched, don't you think?'

'Don't you want a big family?' asked Hermione, finished putting the bandages. 'I do. I'm an only child and don't want to have one kid.'

'Maybe,' said Arabella, getting up from the floor and helping Hermione up. 'It's too early to be thinking about this.'

'I know. My cousins would talk about them when we would get together occasionally. Got me thinking,' said Hermione, shrugging her shoulder as she got into her bed.

Arabella nodded as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming about roots that were trying to hit her with tools.

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :) I'm sorry of Hermione seems a bit ooc in the beginning with the shower thing and towards the end with the crush talk. I wasn't sure (Arabella has a bad influence on her ;))**


	7. Secrets and Deathday Party

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella.**

**Enjoy! Hope you like it :)**

Secrets and Deathday Party

'A deathday party? And you agreed to that?' said Arabella in disbelief. They were all in the common room.

'It sounds interesting,' said Hermione. 'I bet there aren't many living people who can say they've been to one of those – it'll be fascinating!'

'Who would want to celebrate the day they died?' said Ron, halfway through his potions homework. 'Sounds dead depressing to me…'

'What sounds dead depressing?' came a voice from behind them. It was Fred and George.

'Deathday party,' said Arabella, knowing why they were here.

'It does sound depressing,' said George.

'Say, Arabella, do you mind telling us –' said Fred.

'No.'

'Please, we've been trying to figure it out,' said George.

'Keep trying.'

'Please, we'll do anything for you Bella,' said Fred.

Arabella turned her head towards Fred and looked furious.

'Don't. Ever. Call. Me. Bella.'

'Why not?' said Fred, smirking a bit. 'Bella?'

Arabella snapped. She grabbed the front of Fred's robes and pulled this face close to hers.

'If you ever call me Bella again, I will curse you into oblivion and won't even break a sweat. Got it?' she said in a low dangerous voice.

Fred nodded, scared of her.

Arabella let go of his robes. Fred and George walked towards the other side of the room, giving her sad looks as they left.

Silence followed them as Harry, Ron and Hermione were watching her with shocked looks.

'What was that?' said Hermione, breaking the silence.

'I don't like to be called Bella,' said Arabella, shrugging her shoulder. She looked a bit depressed.

'Why not?' asked Ron.

Arabella shrugged her shoulder again. She felt bad for losing her temper like that, especially to Fred.

'I'll be right back,' she said.

She walked to Fred and George, looking apologetic. She tapped Fred on the shoulders. He turned around and didn't look like his usual cheery self.

'I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean any of what I said. I would never curse you,' said Arabella, looking at her shoes.

'It's fine. I know you won't,' said Fred, giving her a smile.

'Why do you hate the name Bella?' said George, looking confused.

Arabella hesitated. She didn't want to tell him. She didn't want to tell anybody.

'It's a long story, one that I don't want to talk about,' said Arabella.

Fred and George looked at each other. They liked Arabella, they really did. They nodded knowingly at each other before turning back to her.

'If you ever need to talk to us,' said Fred.

'We're here,' said George.

'Though you might want to really talk to Harry,' said Fred, winking at her.

'What?' said Arabella, looking at Fred with wide eyes.

'It's pretty obvious,' said George.

'Everyone can see it,' said Fred.

'Us.'

'Hermione.'

'Ron, too. Surprisingly.'

'Most of the Gryffindors.'

'Probably some of the teachers.'

'Maybe even Snape.'

'Ravenclaws. They're smart.'

'Probably some Slytherins.'

'Some Hufflepuffs.'

'The only one that doesn't know is Harry.'

'Let's get something straight,' said Arabella, blushing furiously. 'I don't like Harry in that way. I like him as a friend and nothing more.'

'Whatever you say,' said George, smiling widely.

'Anyway, we have a bet with Ron. He says you'll get together in you fifth year. I say sixth year. George says in the summer between fourth and fifth year. We bet one galleon,' said Fred, smiling at her.

Arabella stood there with her mouth slightly open. She didn't know what to say. She turned away from them and rejoined Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Hermione watched her before standing up.

'You want to go upstairs?' she asked Arabella. She nodded and followed Hermione to their dormitory.

'Why don't you like to be called that name?' asked Hermione, as Arabella laid on her bed. She sat on the edge of Arabella's bed, facing her.

'Long story,' said Arabella, her voice muffled by her pillow.

'We got time,' said Hermione. It was around sometime in the evening.

Arabella shook her head. Hermione sighed.

'You have to talk to someone about it. Threatening someone for calling you an innocent name is not normal.'

Arabella looked up at Hermione in anger.

'Innocent name?' she said. 'There is nothing innocent about it.'

Hermione was about to open her mouth to say something but Arabella continued on.

'Want to know the story? Here it is. My mother was murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange and some other people. She was tortured by her and she tortured me. Want to know why I never wear any short sleeve clothes? Here's why.' She rolled up her robes and showed her scars to Hermione.

Hermione was horrified. Her eyes widened at the sight. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the words. Arabella rolled her sleeves down after a moment.

'Hearing the name Bella makes me think back to that day. I hate her. I hate everything about her,' said Arabella, as tear started to fall down her cheeks. Her knees were to her chest as she hugged herself.

Hermione snapped out of her dazed state and pulled Arabella close to her, hugging her.

'Nobody's ever doing to do that to you again,' she said, rocking her back and forth. They stayed like that for a while as Arabella calmed down.

'Why don't you write a letter to your uncle? I bet he'll like that,' said Hermione.

Arabella nodded again. She pulled herself together and walked towards her little tableside. Hermione left the room to give her some privacy.

Arabella took out some parchment and ink.

_Dear Moony,_

_How are you? I miss you. Really, really miss you._

_I told Hermione about the incident. She saw me react to something really badly and comforted me. I showed her the scars and everything. It feels good that I told her, as though a weight has lifted off my shoulders. _

_Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood and I punched him. I think I broke his nose, but I didn't see him after to know. He won't tell anybody, he'll be too embarrassed._

_We're apparently going to a deathday party on Halloween. It does not sound fun at all. We're going to be missing the feast, and it's the best one they have. _

_Anyway, hope you're okay. I love you. _

_Arabella. _

Arabella read the letter over a couple times before going downstairs with it.

'Can one of you come with me to the owlery?' she asked Harry, Ron and Hermione.

'I'll go,' said Hermione, the only one who wasn't doing any homework. They walked out the portrait hole together, waving at Harry and Ron.

'So, what did Fred and George tell you?' said Hermione.

'Nothing,' lied Arabella, not wanting to go into this again. 'They were just saying that everything was okay between us.'

Hermione seemed to buy this.

* * *

By the time Halloween arrived, Harry was regretting his promise to go to the deathday party. The rest of the school was happily anticipating their Halloween feast.

'A promise is a promise,' Hermione reminded Harry bossily. 'You said you'd go to the deathday party.'

At seven o'clock, Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione walked straight past the doorway to the packed Great Hall and directed their steps instead toward the dungeons.

'Is that supposed to be music?' Ron whispered. They heard what sounded like a thousand fingernails scraping an enormous blackboard. They turned a corner and saw Nearly Headless Nick standing at the doorway.

'My dear friends,' he said mournfully. 'Welcome, welcome… so pleased you could come…'

He swept off his hat and bowed them inside.

'Shall we look around?' Harry suggested, wanting to warm up his feet.

'Careful not to walk through anyone,' said Ron nervously, and they set off around the edge of the dance floor.

'Oh, no,' said Hermione, stopping abruptly. 'Turn back, turn back, I don't want to talk to Moaning Myrtle –'

'Who?' said Harry as they backtracked quickly.

'She's the ghost in the girl's bathroom on the first floor. Really annoying,' said Arabella.

'So, she just stays in a bathroom?'

'Yes. It's been out-of-order all year because she keeps having tantrums and flooding the place,' said Hermione.

'We never go in there. It's awful trying to pee when she's there going on and on about things that don't really matter,' said Arabella.

'Look, food!' said Ron.

On the other side of the dungeon was a long table. They walked towards it but stopped at the next moment, horrified. The smell was quite disgusting. Harry watched as a ghost approached the table, crouched down low and walked through it.

'Can you taste it if you walk through it?' Harry asked him.

'Almost,' said the ghost sadly and drifted away.

'Can we move? I feel sick,' said Ron.

They had barely turned around, however, when a little man swooped suddenly from under the table and came to a halt in midair before them.

'Hello, Peeves,' said Harry cautiously.

'Nibbles?' he said sweetly, offering them a bowl of peanuts covered in fungus.

'No thank,' said Hermione, as Arabella made a ting gagging noise.

'Heard the two of you talking about poor Myrtle,' said Peeves, his eyes dancing. 'Rude you was about Myrtle'. He took a deep breath and bellowed, 'OY! MYRTLE!'

'No!' said Hermione and Arabella.

'Please, don't tell her what we said, she'll be really upset,' whispered Hermione.

'We didn't mean it, we don't – er, hello Myrtle,' said Arabella, giving her a nervous smile.

The ghost of a girl had glided over. She had the glummest face harry had ever seem, half-hidden behind lank hair and thick, pearly spectacles.

'What?' she said sulkily.

'How are you, Myrtle?' said Hermione in a falsely bright voice.

'It's nice to see you come out of your toilet,' said Arabella, following Hermione.

Myrtle sniffed.

'Miss Granger and Miss Black was just talking about you –' Peeves said slyly in Myrtle's ear.

'Just saying – saying – how nice you look tonight. Right, Arabella?' said Hermione, glaring at Peeves.

'Of course. Your, er – glasses match your, em – hair,' said Arabella, unconvincingly.

Myrtle eyed Hermione and Arabella suspiciously.

'You're making fun of me,' she said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

'Us? No,' said Arabella, shaking her head.

'Didn't we say how nice Myrtle's looking?' said Hermione, nudging Harry and Ron.

'Oh, yeah –'

'They said –'

'Don't lie to me,' Myrtle gasped, tears flooding down her face, while Peeves chuckled happily over her shoulder. 'D'you think I don't know what people call me behind my back? Fat Myrtle! Ugly Myrtle! Miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle!'

'You've forgotten pimply,' Peeves hissed in her ears.

Moaning Myrtle burst into sobs and fled from the dungeon. Peeves shot after her, yelling, 'Pimply! Pimply!'

'Oh, dear,' said Hermione sadly.

Nearly Headless Nick now drifted toward them through the crowd.

'Enjoying yourselves?'

'Oh, yes,' lied Harry, Ron and Hermione.

'No – I mean yes,' said Arabella as Hermione nudged her painfully in the ribs. Nearly Headless Nick didn't notice her initial answer.

'Not a bad turnout,' he said proudly. 'The Wailing Widow came all the way up from Kent… It's nearly time for my speech, I'd better go and warn the orchestra…'

The orchestra, however, stopped playing at that very moment. They, and everyone else in the dungeon, fell silent, looking around in excitement, as a hunting horn sounded.

'Oh, here we go,' said Nearly Headless Nick bitterly.

Through the dungeon wall burst a dozen ghost horses, each ridden by a headless horseman. The assembly clapped wildly; Harry started to clap, too, but stopped quickly at the sight of Nick's face.

The horses galloped into the middle of the dance floor and halted, rearing and plunging. At the front of the pack was a large ghost who held his bearded head under his arm, from which position he was blowing the horn. The ghost leapt down, lifted his head high in the air so he could see over the crowd (everyone laughed), and strode over to Nearly Headless Nick, squashing his head back onto his neck.

'Nick!' he roared. 'How are you? Head still hanging in there?'

He gave a hearty guffaw and clapped Nearly Headless Nick on the shoulder.

'Welcome, Patrick,' said Nick stiffly.

'Live 'uns!' said Sir Patrick, spotting Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione and giving a huge, fake jump of astonishment, so that his head fell off again (the crowd howled with laughter).

'Very amusing,' said Nearly Headless Nick darkly.

'Don't mind Nick!' shouted Sir Patrick's head from the floor. 'Still upset we won't let him join the Hunt! But I mean to say — look at the fellow —'

'I think,' said Harry hurriedly, at a meaningful look from Nick, 'Nick's very — frightening and — er —'

'Ha!' yelled Sir Patrick's head. 'Bet he asked you to say that!'

'If I could have everyone's attention, it's time for my speech!' said Nearly Headless Nick loudly, striding toward the podium and climbing into an icy blue spotlight.

'My late lamented lords, ladies, and gentlemen, it is my great sorrow . . .'

But nobody heard much more. Sir Patrick and the rest of the Headless Hunt had just started a game of Head Hockey and the crowd were turning to watch. Nearly Headless Nick tried vainly to recapture his audience, but gave up as Sir Patrick's head went sailing past him to loud cheers.

Harry was very cold by now, not to mention hungry.

'I can't stand much more of this,' Ron muttered, his teeth chattering, as the orchestra ground back into action and the ghosts swept back onto the dance floor.

'Let's go,' Harry agreed.

They backed toward the door, nodding and beaming at anyone who looked at them, and a minute later were hurrying back up the passageway full of black candles.

'Next time, Harry, when someone asks you a favour like this, talk to us first,' said Arabella.

They were walking towards the entrance hall.

And then Harry heard it.

'… _rip… tear…kill…'_

It was the same voice, the same cold, murderous voice he had heard in Lockhart's office.

He stumbled to a halt, clutching at the stone wall, listening with all his might, looking around, squinting up and down the dimly lit passageway.

'Harry, what're you -?'

'It's that voice again – shut up a minute –'

'_… soo hungry… for so long…'_

'Listen!' said Harry urgently, and Ron, Arabella and Hermione froze, watching him.

'_… kill… time to kill…_'

'This way,' he shouted, and he began to run, up the stairs, into the entrance hall. There was no good hoping to hear anything here, the babble of talk from the Halloween feast was echoing out of the Great Hall. Harry sprinted up the marble staircase to the first floor, Ron, Arabella and Hermione clattering behind him.

'Harry, what're we –'

'SHH!'

'_… I smell blood… I SMELL BLOOD!'_

'It's going to kill someone!' he shouted, and ignored their bewildered faces, he ran up the next flight of steps three at a time, trying to listen over his footsteps –

Harry hurtled around the whole of the second floor, Ron, Arabella and Hermione panting behind him, not stopping until they turned a corner into the last, deserted passage.

'Harry, what was that all about?' said Ron, wiping sweat off his face. 'I couldn't hear anything…'

But Hermione gave a sudden gasp, pointing down the corridor.

'Look!'

Something was shining on the wall ahead. They approached slowly, squinting through the darkness.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

'What's that thing – hanging underneath?' said Ron, a slight quiver in his voice.

Arabella approached the dark shadow beneath it. She leapt backwards and slipped on the puddle of water in the floor; Harry managed to catch her in time before she hit the ground.

'It's Mrs Norris,' she said in a frightened voice.

For a few seconds, they didn't move. Then Ron said, 'Let's get out of here.'

'Shouldn't we try and help –' began Harry awkwardly.

'Trust me,' said Ron. 'We don't want to be found here.'

But it was too late. A distant noise told them that the feast had just ended. From either end of the corridor where they stood came the sound of hundreds of feet climbing the stairs, and the loud, happy talk of well-fed people; next moment, students were crashing into the passage from both ends.

The chatter, the bustle, the noise died suddenly as the people in front spotted the hanging cat. Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione stood alone, in the middle of the corridor, as silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the grisly sight.

Then someone shouted through the quiet.

'Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!'

It was Draco Malfoy. He had pushed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes alive, his usually bloodless face flushed, as he grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat.

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :)**


	8. The Writing on the Wall

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella**

**The beginning is just mostly plot about the writing on the wall and about the chamber. The rest is Arabella and Hermione. It's not the greatest chapter, but I tried my best :) Hope you like it!**

The Writing on the Wall

'What's going on here? What's going on?'

Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw Mrs Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

'My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs Norris?' he shrieked.

And his eyes fell on Harry.

'You!' he screeched. 'You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll –'

'Argus!'

Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione and detached Mrs Norris from the torch bracket.

'Come with me, Argus,' he said to Filch. 'You, too, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, Miss Black, Miss Granger.'

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

'My office is nearest, Headmaster – just upstairs – please feel free –'

'Thank you, Gilderoy,' said Dumbledore.

They all made their way to Lockhart's office in silence. The teachers were at the front. Arabella grabbed on the Harry's arm.

'Don't mention the voices,' she whispered. Harry looked at her. 'Trust me.'

As they entered Lockhart's office there was a flurry of movement across the walls; several of the Lockharts in the pictures dodging out of sight, their hair in rollers. The real Lockhart lit the candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore laid Mrs Norris on the surface and began to examine her. Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione exchanged tense looks and sank into chairs outside the pool of candlelight, watching.

The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his half-moon spectacles, his long fingers gently prodding and poking. Professor McGonagall was bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression: It was as though he was trying hard not to smile. And Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions.

'It was definitely a curse that killed her – probably the Transmogrifian Torture – I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her…'

Lockhart's comments were punctuated by Filch's dry sobs. He was slumped in a chair by the desk, unable to look at Mrs Norris, his face in his hands. Much as he detested Filch, Harry couldn't help fell a bit sorry for him, though not nearly as sorry as he felt for himself. If Dumbledore believed Filch, he would be expelled for sure.

Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs Norris with his wand but nothing happened: She continued to look as though she had been recently stuffed.

'… I remember something very similar happening in Ougadogou,' said Lockhart, 'a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once…'

At last Dumbledore straightened up.

'She's not dead, Argus,' he said softly.

Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented.

'Not dead?' choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs Norris. 'But why's she all – all stiff and frozen?'

'She has been Petrified,' said Dumbledore ('Ah! I thought so!' said Lockhart). 'But how, I cannot say…'

'Ask him!' shrieked Filch, turning his face to Harry.

'No second year could have done this,' said Dumbledore firmly. 'It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced –'

'He did it, he did it!' Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. 'You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found – in my office – he knows I'm a – I'm a –' Filch's face worked horribly. 'He knows I'm a Squib!' he finished.

'I never touched Mrs Norris!' Harry said loudly. 'And I don't even know what a squib is.'

'Rubbish!' snarled Filch. 'He saw my Kwikspell letter!'

'If I may speak, Headmaster,' said Snape from the shadows, and Harry's sense of foreboding increased; he was sure nothing Snape had to say was going to do him any good.

'Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time,' he said, a slight sneer curling his mouth as though he doubted it. 'But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?'

Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione all launched into an explanation about the deathday party. '… there were hundreds of ghosts, they'll tell you we were there –'

'But why not join the feast afterward?' said Snape. 'Why go up to that corridor?'

'Because we were tired and wanted to go to bed,' said Arabella, looking Snape in the eyes.

'Without any supper?' said Snape. 'I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties.'

'We weren't hungry,' said Ron loudly as his stomach gave a huge rumble.

Snape's nasty smile widened.

"I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful," he said. "It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."

"Really, Severus," said Professor McGonagall sharply, "I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Potter has done anything wrong."

Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look. His twinkling light-blue gaze made Harry feel as though he were being X-rayed.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said firmly.

Snape looked furious. So did Filch.

"My cat has been Petrified!" he shrieked, his eyes popping. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," said Dumbledore patiently. "Professer Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep —"

"Excuse me," said Snape icily. "But I believe I am the Potions master at this school."

There was a very awkward pause.

'You may go,' Dumbledore said to Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione.

They went, as quickly as they could without actually running. When they were a floor up from Lockhart's office, they turned into an empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind them. Harry turned to Arabella, squinting to find her face.

'Why did you tell me not to tell them about the voice I heard?'

'It's not common to hear voice in the wizarding world,' she said.

Something in her voice made Harry ask, 'You do believe me, don't you?'

'Of course I do,' she said at once.

'But you have to admit, it's a bit weird,' said Ron.

'I know it's weird,' said Harry. 'The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? 'The Chamber Had Been Opened'… What's that supposed to mean?'

'You know, it rings a sort of bell,' said Ron. 'I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once… might've been Bill…'

'And what on earth's a Squib?' said Harry.

To his surprise, Ron stifled a snigger. Arabella hit him over the head.

'It's not funny, Ronald,' she said. 'A Squib is someone who is born into a wizarding family but doesn't have any magical powers. So, almost the opposite of a Muggle-born wizard.'

A clock chimed somewhere.

'Midnight,' said Harry. 'We'd better get to bed before Snape comes along and tries to frame us for something else.'

So, they made their way back to the common room without Snape finding them. Arabella and Hermione said goodnight to Harry and Ron as they went up their dormitory.

'Are you hungry?' said Arabella. Hermione nodded.

Arabella went to her bed and grabbed her trunk from under her bed. She opened it and pulled out some chocolate frogs from in there.

'It's not much, but better than nothing,' said Arabella, as she threw one to Hermione.

'Do you know anything about The Chamber?' asked Hermione as she took a bit.

'No, but it sounds a bit strange,' said Arabella. 'The whole enemies of the heir thing is weird.'

They finished their chocolates in silence before they went to bed.

* * *

The attack had an effect of Hermione. It was usual for Hermione to spend a lot of time reading, but she was now doing nothing else. Harry, Ron and Arabella couldn't get a response from her when they asked what she was doing, and not until the following Wednesday did they find out.

They were at the back of the library doing their History of Magic homework.

'Where's Hermione?' said Arabella, measuring her homework.

'Somewhere over there,' said Ron, pointing along the shelves. 'Looking for another book. I think she's trying to read the whole library before Christmas.'

Hermione emerged from between the bookshelves. She looked irritable and at last seemed ready to talk to them.

'All the copies of _Hogwarts, A History_ have been taken out,' she said. 'And there's a two week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I could fit it in my truck with all the Lockhart books. Say, Arabella –'

'No.'

'Please. I'll do -'

'Hermione I'm not going to ask him.'

'Ask who what?' said Ron.

'Hermione wants me to ask Uncle Remus about the Chamber, which I'm not going to do,' said Arabella, giving Hermione a pointed look.

'Why not?'

'It'll be too suspicious. He'll want to know why and he'll think that we're going to go snooping around again.'

'How about you ask him to send you _Hogwarts, A History_?' asked Hermione.

'Nope. He knows I've never read that book. Anything I want to know, I ask him. It'll be suspicious if all of a sudden I have an interest in reading it.'

'Why do you want it?' said Harry.

'The same reason everyone else wants it,' said Hermione, 'to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets.'

'What _is _the Chamber of Secrets?' said Harry quickly.

'That's just it. I can't remember,' said Hermione, biting her lip. 'And I can't find the story anywhere else –'

The bell rang and they made their way to History of Magic.

History of Magic was their most boring class. All they did was listen to Professor Binns and occasionally copy down some names and dates.

Today was different. Today someone put up their hand. It was Hermione.

Professor Binns looked up and was amazed.

'Miss – er -?'

'Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets,' said Hermione.

Everyone was paying attention now. Arabella, who was previously doodling, was now giving Professor Binns her full attention.

Professor Binns blinked.

'My subject is History of Magic,' he said in a dry voice. 'I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends.'

He was about to continue on when Hermione's hand was up again.

'Miss Grant?'

'Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?'

'Well,' said Professor Binns slowly, 'yes, one could argue that, I suppose. However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational, even ludicrous tale – '

Then, Arabella's hand shot up. Hermione was shock to see her participate, considering what class they were in.

'Yes, Miss Block?'

'Does the Chamber of Secrets have anything to do with Slytherin?'

The whole class was now looking at Professor Binns, hanging on to everything he was saying.

'Oh, very well,' he said slowly. 'Let me start from the beginning…

'Hogwarts was founded by Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built the castle together, far from Muggle eyes, for magic was feared by common people. For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, teaching youngsters who showed magical abilities. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift grew between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be within all-magic families. He didn't like taking in students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on that subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school.'

Professor Binns paused again.

'Reliable historical sources tell us this much,' he said. 'But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all those who were unworthy to study magic.'

There was silence as he finished the story, but not the usual sleepy kind.

'The whole thing in arrant nonsense, of course,' he said. 'Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible.'

Hermione's hand was back in the air.

'Sir – what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?'

'That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control,' said Professor Binns in his dry, reedy voice.

The class exchanged nervous looks.

'I tell you, the thing does not exist,' said Professor Binns. 'There is no Chamber and no monster.'

'But, sir,' said Seamus, 'if the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?'

'Nonsense, O'Flaherty,' said Professor Binns in an aggravated tone. 'If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven't found the thing –'

'But, Professor,' said Arabella, 'you have to be related to Slytherin or do some sort of Dark Magic to open it that only they can probably do –'

'Just because a wizard doesn't use Dark Magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Block,' snapped Professor Binns. 'I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore –'

'But, Professor, like Arabella says, you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't –' began Dean, but Professor Binns had had enough.

'That will do,' he said sharply. 'It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable fact!'

And within five minutes, the class had sunk back into it usual torpor.

* * *

'I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twister old loony,' said Ron. 'But I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his House if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home…'

Hermione nodded fervently, but Harry and Arabella didn't say anything.

They were walking with the crowd when Colin went past them.

'Hiya, Harry!'

'Hullo, Colin.'

'Harry – Harry – a boy in my class has been saying you're –'

But Colin was so small he couldn't fight against the tide of people bearing him toward the Great Hall and he was gone.

'What was a boy in his class saying about you?' asked Arabella.

'That I'm Slytherin's heir, I expect,' said Harry.

'People here'll believe anything,' said Ron in disgust.

The crowd thinned and they were able to climb the next staircase without difficulty.

'D'you really think there's a Chamber of Secrets?' asked Ron.

'Yes,' said Arabella automatically. They turned to her and raised their eyebrows.

'Nobody would just write it on the wall like that. And whoever did that to Mrs Norris was obviously not human,' said Arabella.

As she spoke, they turned a corner and found themselves at the end of the very corridor where the attack had happened. They stopped and looked. The scene was just as it had been that night, except for no Mrs Norris. The corridor was deserted.

'Can't hurt to have a poke around,' said Harry, dropping his bag and getting to his hands and knees so that he could crawl along, searching for clues.

'Scorch marks!' he said. 'Here – and here –'

'Come and look at this!' said Hermione. 'This is funny…'

Harry got up and crossed to the window next to the message on the wall. Hermione was pointing at the topmost pane, where around twenty spiders were scuttling, apparently fighting to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope, as though they had all climbed it in their hurry to get outside.

'Have you ever seen spiders act like that?' said Hermione.

'No,' said Harry and Arabella together.

'Have you Ron? Ron?' said Harry.

He looked over his shoulder. Ron was standing well back and seemed to be fighting the impulse to run.

'What's wrong?' said Arabella.

'I don't like spiders,' said Ron.

'I never knew that,' said Hermione, looking at Ron in surprise. 'You've used spiders in Potions loads if times…'

'I don't mind them dead,' said Ron, who was carefully looking anywhere but at the window. 'I just don't like the way they move…'

Hermione and Arabella giggled.

'It's not funny,' said Ron, fiercely. 'If you must know, when I was three, Fred turned my – my teddy bear into a great big filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick… you would like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and…'

He broke off, shuddering. Hermione and Arabella were obviously still trying not to laugh. Feeling they had better get off the subject, Harry said, 'Remember all that water on the floor? Where did that come from? Someone's mopped it up.'

'It was on this floor, since it was around there. At that door,' said Arabella, pointing to the area past Filch's chair.

Ron reached for the brass doorknob but suddenly withdrew his hand as though he'd been burned.

'What's the matter?' said Harry.

'Can't go in there,' said Ron. 'That's a girls' toilet.'

'Oh, please,' said Arabella, rolling her eyes.

'That's Moaning Myrtle's place. Come on, let's have a look,' said Hermione.

Ignoring the large OUT OF ORDER sign, Hermione opened the door and stepped inside.

It was the most depressing bathroom they had ever been in. Hermione put her fingers to her lips and set off toward the end stall. When she reached it she said, 'Hello, Myrtle, how are you?'

Harry, Ron and Arabella went to look. Moaning Myrtle was floating above the tank of the toilet, picking a spot on her chin.

'This is a girl's bathroom,' she said, eyeing Harry and Ron suspiciously. 'They're not girl.'

'Does it matter? It says out of order on the door,' said Arabella.

'Ask her if she saw anything?' whispered Harry in Arabella's left ear.

'What are you whispering?' said Myrtle, staring at him.

'Nothing,' said Harry quickly. 'We wanted to ask –'

'I wish people would stop talking behind my back!' said Myrtle, in a voice choked with tears. 'I do have feeling, you know, even if I am dead –'

'Myrtle, no one wants to upset you,' said Hermione. 'Harry only –'

'No one wants to upset me! That's a good one!' howled Myrtle. 'My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!'

'We wanted to know if you've seen anything weird recently,' said Arabella quickly. 'Because a cat was attacked right outside your door on Halloween.'

'Did you see anyone near here that night?' said Harry.

'I wasn't paying attention,' said Myrtle dramatically. 'Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm – that I'm –'

'Already dead,' said Ron helpfully. Arabella smacked him over the head.

Myrtle gave a tragic sob, rose up in the air, turned over, and dived headfirst into the toilet, splashing water all over them and vanishing from sight.

Harry and Ron stood there with their mouths open, but Hermione and Arabella shrugged.

'Honestly, that was almost cheerful for Myrtle… Come on, let's go,' said Hermione.

* * *

'Who can it be though?' said Hermione in a quiet voice. There were in the common room. They tried to do their Charms homework, but were too distracted. 'Who'd want to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?'

'Let's think,' said Ron in a mock puzzlement. 'Who do we know who thinks Muggle-borns are scum?'

'My family,' said Arabella, absentmindedly. 'People in Azkaban, Vol –'

'Arabella!' said Ron and Hermione at the same time. Harry looked at Ron.

'If you're talking about Malfoy –'

'Of course I am!' said Ron. 'You heard him – 'You'll be next Mudbloods!' – come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him –'

'It's not him,' said Arabella, shaking her head. 'He's not the Heir of Slytherin.'

'Look at his family,' said Harry. 'The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough.'

'If he was the Heir of Slytherin, don't you think he would go around tell everybody that?' said Arabella.

'Who knows what does through his head,' said Harry.

'They could've had a key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries!' said Ron. 'Handing it down, father to son…'

'Well, I suppose it's possible,' said Hermione.

'No it's not! He's not the Heir to Slytherin no more than I am!' said Arabella, frustrated.

'We know you're not the Heir, but he could be, Arabella,' said Harry, putting his right hand over her left shoulder. 'It's worth trying to find out, isn't it?'

Arabella sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

'There's a way,' she said. 'I've tried making it once, but it's very difficult and dangerous.'

'What is it?' said Hermione, eyeing Arabella suspiciously.

'Polyjuice Potion,' said Arabella, looking Hermione straight in her eyes.

Hermione's eyes widened.

'But we'd be breaking about fifty school rules! And the danger! It's – it's –'

'The only way,' said Arabella, gravely.

'When you two are done, do you mind letting us in on it?' said Ron irritably.

Arabella sighed again as Hermione's eyes were still wide.

'Polyjuice potion transforms you into somebody else. All we have to do, once we take it, is to change into four Slytherin students and nobody will know. We go in and ask Malfoy a few questions. If he doesn't go around the school boasting about it, he'll probably be doing it in the common room,' said Arabella.

'When did you make it?' said Hermione, looking at Arabella suspiciously.

'My cousin was making it for Auror training –it's kind of like the police,' said Arabella, when Harry was about to ask her what that was. 'It's part of her training requirement, even though she didn't need to use it. So before she had to do it in front of her trainer, she practiced it with me. She's horrible at potions and need some sort of help. I was the only one that was willing to help her.'

'What if we were stuck looking like three of the Slytherins forever?' asked Ron.

'It wears off after a while,' said Hermione. 'But getting hold of the recipe will be very difficult. I think Snape said it was in a book called _Moste Potente Potions_ a couple weeks agoand it's bound to be in the Restriction Section of the library.'

'Hard to see why we'd want the book, really,' said Ron, 'if we weren't going to try and make one of the potions.'

'I think,' said Hermione, 'that if we made it sound as though we were interested in the theory, we might stand a chance…'

'Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that,' said Ron. 'They'd have to be really thick…'

'Hey, Arabella, there's a letter for you on your bed,' said Lavender, as she was getting into bed.

'Thanks Lavender,' said Arabella. She went to her bed and saw a letter addressed to her from Remus.

'Who's it from?' asked Hermione as she was getting ready for bed.

'Uncle Remus,' replied Arabella as she opened the envelope.

_Dear Arabella,_

_I miss you too. The house gets lonely without you constantly annoying me. _

_I'm happy that you opened up to someone other than me. From what you told me about Hermione, she sounds like a lovely person and a good friend. I'm happy that you stood up for Hermione, but wished that you didn't have to punch someone, despite it being Lucius's son. I agree he won't tell anyone, if he's anything like his father, but it doesn't mean that you should punch anyone. Hope you had fun at the deathday party, though it sounds dead boring. See what I did there? There will be other feasts, don't worry. _

_Nymphadora's training is going well, though she's not on Mad-Eye's good side yet. She said she tried to get him to laugh, but everyone knows that doesn't work with him. She found out about it the hard way. Andy and Ted are good as well. They're going on a vacation to Italy this Christmas. Unfortunately, I also have to go somewhere too. There might be a job somewhere near York. I hope you don't mind, but it's a good deal and it's only for a couple months. I'll be back in time when you finish your second year. I'm sorry._

_Hope everything is okay and that you're studying. I love you too. _

_Love, Remus. _

'Everything okay?' asked Hermione.

Arabella looked at their other roommates and saw that they were fast asleep. Arabella motioned for Hermione towards the washroom. They entered the room and turned on the shower.

'Everything's fine. He has to go somewhere for some job. So I'll be here for Christmas,' said Arabella.

'That's great, but why are we here?' asked Hermione.

'So the other won't know what we're going to do. We can start making the Polyjuice Potion as soon as we get the recipe and ingredients.'

'And we'll be able to get into the Slytherin common room by Christmas Day,' said Hermione, understanding the distraction of running water.

'Exactly,' nodded Arabella, 'but we'll need to find a way to knock the people we're going to turn into, just in case they're here when we do it.'

'How about Sleeping Drought? We should be able to make one pretty fast, but how are we going to be able to get the person to take it? They won't exactly agree to it,' said Hermione.

'We'll figure that out later. Let's just worry about the potions first,' said Arabella, yawning.

'Let's go to bed,' said Hermione, shutting off the shower. 'So, what else did your uncle write to you?'

'He's happy that I told you about the incident and that I stood up for you against Malfoy.'

'He was happy that you punched Malfoy?' said Hermione, getting in her bed.

'He's not happy about that part, but seeing as its Lucius Malfoy's son, I don't think he minds too much. He's just kind of scolding me because it's his job,' said Arabella, shrugging.

'Is his father really that bad?' asked Hermione, curious.

'He's pretty bad, but he's also a coward,' said Arabella, lying down on her bed and staring at the ceiling.

'How so?'

'When Voldemort was gone, he said that he was under the spell the whole time and that he didn't mean anything he did. It was a lie of course. He also paid a lot of money to get on the Minister's good side for some things.'

'How important was he to You-Know-Who?'

'According to some of the other followers, he was a very trusted follower.'

'How do you know all of this?'

'The Auror that saved me from Bellatrix Lestrange told me. His name is Alastor Moody, but most people call him Mad-Eye –'

'Why do they call him that?' asked Hermione, sleepily.

'He's crazy and you'll have to see his face to understand that nickname fully. Anyway, he comes and visits me sometimes. My mom used to work for him when she was an Auror, too. I think he still feels bad for me, even after all these years. Sometimes I would ask him about his job and all the people he arrested. He would warn we about certain people and tell me the truth of I ask him.'

Arabella looked over at Hermione and found her fast asleep.

'Thanks for listening,' said Arabella, sarcastically. She turned on her sides and fell asleep too.

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :)**


	9. The Rogue Bludger

**disclaimer: i don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella.**

**To be honest, this chapter is a 'meh', but I tried my best. The next one will be better, I promise. It's just I really want to finish this book and start on the third one. **

The Rogue Bludger

'Ready?' Harry muttered.

'Wait till everyone's gone,' said Hermione nervously. 'All right…'

She approached Lockhart's desk, a piece of paper clutched tightly in her hand, Harry, Ron and Arabella right behind her.

'Er – Professor Lockhart?' Hermione stammered. 'I wanted to – to get this book out of the library. Just for background reading.' She held out the piece of paper, her hands shaking slightly. 'But the thing is, it's in the Restriction Section of the library, so I need a teacher to sign for it – I'm sure it would help me understand what you say in _Gadding with Ghouls _about slow-acting venoms –'

'Ah, _Gadding with Ghouls_!' said Lockhart, taking the note from Hermione and smiling widely at her. 'Possibly my favourite book. Did you enjoy it? What was your favourite part?'

'Oh, yes,' said Hermione eagerly. 'So, clever, the way you trapped the last one with the tea-strainer –'

'Amazing part, wasn't it? How about you, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, Miss Black?'

'The end,' said Arabella, trying not to smirk.

'Oh, yeah, the ending,' said Harry in a mock impressed voice, nodding his head.

'Quite riveting,' said Ron, trying not to laugh. Hermione was glaring at all of them.

'Yes, the ending was good, wasn't it? Well, I'm sure no one will mind me giving the best student of the year a little help, and her friends,' said Lockhart warmly, and he pulled out an enormous peacock quill. 'Yes, nice, isn't it?' he said, misreading the revolted look on Ron's face. 'I usually save it for book signings.'

He scrawled an enormous loopy signature on the note and handed it back to Hermione.

'So, Harry,' said Lockhart. 'Tomorrow's the first Quidditch match of the season, I believe? Gryffindor against Slytherin, is it not? I hear you're a useful player. I was a Seeker, too. I was asked to try for the National Squad, but preferred to dedicate my life to the eradication of the Dark Forces. Still, if ever you feel the need for a little private training, don't hesitate to ask. Always happy to pass on my expertise to less able players…'

Arabella raised her eyebrows.

'Have you seen Harry play in a Quidditch game before, Professor?' she asked.

'Well, no I haven't – '

'Then you should know that he is the youngest Seeker in a century and certainly doesn't need _anybody's _help. Thank you. Good day,' said Arabella, turning around and walking out of the classroom. Harry and Ron followed her out, trying not to laugh until they were far away from Lockhart's classroom.

They stopped at the corridor just before the library and burst out laughing. Hermione came from around the corner and scowled at them.

'That was not funny,' she said hotly.

'Yes it was,' said Ron. 'He's a brainless git. He didn't even look at the book we wanted.'

'He is not a brainless git,' shrilled Hermione as they walked to the library.

They handed Madam Pince the note.

'_Moste Potente Potions_?' she repeated suspiciously. She stalked away between the shelves and returned several minutes later carrying a large and moldy-looking book. Hermione out it carefully into her bag and they left, trying not to walk too quickly or look too guilty.

Five minutes later, they were barricaded in Moaning Myrtle's out-of-order bathroom once again.

Arabella opened _Moste Potente Potions _with Hermione looking over her shoulder. She was flipping through the pages, trying to find the potion.

'Here,' she said, putting the book on the floor so they all can see.

'This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen,' said Hermione as she was looking at the recipe.

'Difficult, but not impossible,' said Arabella. 'Most of the things are in the student store-cupboard. Some of the other things we'll have to steal from Snape's cupboard.'

'Steal? I don't think it's a good idea of we're going to steal from Snape,' said Harry.

'Fine,' snapped Arabella, looking furious. 'Don't steal it from his cupboard. Don't do anything. Let all the Muggle-borns get attacked. I didn't want to do this. I know Malfoy's not the Heir to Slytherin. You guys wanted to find out if he was. But if you want to chicken out, we'll go back to the library and return the book.'

Harry and Ron looked at each other.

'All right, what do we need to do,' said Ron.

'We'll need a distraction during one of our potions class, to get the ingredients,' said Hermione, looking at Arabella.

'I've got the perfect thing,' said Arabella. 'Remind me to write to Uncle Remus.'

'And we also need a bit of whoever we want to change into,' said Hermione, still scanning over the ingredients, occasionally muttering.

'Excuse me?' said Ron sharply. 'What d'you mean, a bit of whoever we're changing into? I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails –'

'It doesn't have to be toenails, Ron,' said Hermione. 'Just get some hair or something of them.'

'How long will it take to make, anyway?' said Harry.

'A month,' said Arabella.

'A month?' said Ron. 'Malfoy could have attacked half the Muggle-vorns in the school by then!' but Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously and he added swiftly, 'But it's the best plan we've got, so full steam ahead, I say.'

However, while Hermione and Arabella were checking that the coast was clear for them to leave the bathroom, Ron muttered to Harry, 'It'll be a lot less hassle if you can just knock Malfoy off his broom tomorrow.'

* * *

'You should have come straight to me!' raged Madam Pomfrey. 'I can mend bone in a second – but growing them back –'

'You will be able to, won't you?' said Harry desperately.

'I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful,' said Madam Pomfrey grimly, throwing Harry a pair of pajamas. 'You'll have to stay the night…'

Hermione and Arabella waited outside the drawn curtain around Harry's bed while Ron helped him into his pajamas.

'How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione?' Ron called through the curtain as he pulled Harry's limp fingers through the curtain as pulled Harry's limp fingers through the cuff. 'If Harry had wanted deboning he would have asked.'

'Anyone can make a mistake,' said Hermione.

'He has made multiple mistakes,' said Arabella. 'He's supposed to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and he's doing a rotten job at it.'

'No he's not,' said Hermione hotly. 'It was just a mistake. And it doesn't hurt anymore, does it, Harry?'

'No,' said Harry, getting into bed. 'But it doesn't do anything else either.'

As Harry swung himself onto the bed, his arm flapped pointlessly.

Hermione, Arabella and Madam Pomfrey came around the curtain. Madam Pomfrey was holding a large bottle of something labeled _Skele-Gro._

'You're in for a rough night,' she said, pouring out a steaming beakerful and handing it to him. 'Regrowing bones is a nasty business.'

So was taking the Skele-Gro. It burned Harry's mouth and throat as it went down, making him cough and splutter. Still tut-tutting about dangerous sports and inept teachers, Madam Pomfrey retreated, leaving Ron, Arabella and Hermione to help Harry gulp down some water.

'We won, though,' said Ron, a grin breaking across his face. 'That was some crash you made. Malfoy's face… he looked ready to kill…'

'I want to know how he fixed that Bludger,' said Hermione darkly.

'We will, don't worry,' said Arabella.

'We'll add it to the list of questions we'll ask him when we've taken the Polyjuice Potion,' said Harry, sinking back onto his pillows. 'I hope it tastes better than this stuff…'

Arabella started to chuckle. Harry raised his eyebrow towards her. She smirked at him, but didn't say anything.

The door of the hospital wing burst open at that moment. Filthy and soaking wet, the rest of the Gryffindor team had arrived to see Harry.

'Unbelievable flying, Harry,' said George. 'I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy.'

They had brought cakes, sweets, and bottles of pumpkin juice; they gathered around Harry's bed and were just getting started on what promised to be a good party when Madam Pomfrey came storming over, shouting, 'This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow! Out! OUT!'

And Harry was left alone, with nothing to distract him from the stabbing pains in his limp arm.

* * *

'I feel bad for Harry,' said Arabella, entering the common room with Hermione and Ron. The Gryffindor team was still up, celebrating. Some of the other Gryffindors were also up.

'I bet you are,' said Ron, sharing a smile with Hermione.

'I am. Regrown bones is horrible,' said Arabella, oblivious to Ron's real meaning.

Arabella went over to Fred and George. When they saw her, they handed her a butterbeer and some cake.

'Thank you,' said Arabella, giving them a smile. 'Where did you get all these stuff?'

'The kitchen,' said George.

'How did you get there?' asked Arabella.

Fred and George looked at each other and smirked.

'Well, we could tell you,' said Fred.

'But what will we get out of it,' said George.

'What do you want?' asked Arabella, deadpanned.

'We want to know how you made that colour bomb,' said Fred.

'And how you made us blue,' said George.

'No. It's a family secret,' said Arabella.

'Then we shall not tell out secrets,' said George.

Arabella narrowed her eyes at them.

'Don't you want to know anything else? Anything at all?' asked Arabella, desperately.

'Nope,' said Fred and George.

'Fine,' said Arabella reluctantly.

'So, you'll tell us,' asked Fred eagerly.

'I'll think about it,' said Arabella, getting up and heading towards her dormitory.

'Full of mysteries that one, Fred,' said George. Arabella was still in ear-shot.

'Couldn't agree with you more, George,' said Fred.

Arabella chuckled and entered her dormitory. Lavender and Parvati already went to sleep. Hermione was in her bed, reading one of Lockhart's books.

'Don't you have to write a letter to your Uncle?' said Hermione, not looking up from her book.

Arabella nodded and got out some paper and a pencil.

_Dear Moony, _

_I know you miss me. Who wouldn't? _

_It's going to be a while until Nymph's one his good side. Though, I don't even know if he has one. Don't worry about it. I don't mind. Harry, Ron and Hermione are also staying behind. I'll be fun. _

_Today there was a Quidditch game. Gryffindor vs Slytherin. Harry caught the Snitch, but one of the Bludgers was acting weird and broke Harry's arm. Lockhart tried to mend it, but he removed all his bones instead. I'm hoping that he leaves by the end of the year. We really need a good teacher next year. Hermione still thinks that what he did was a mistake. She had a big crush on him. _

_I was wondering if you could send me the box under my bed. The one with all the little prank items. I was going to start another war with the Twins. _

_Everything's fine. I love you. _

_Arabella. _

'Did you ask him for the thing you wanted as a distraction?' asked Hermione, finally looking up from her book.

'I did. I told him that I needed it for a prank war against the Twins,' said Arabella, folding up her letter. 'Remind me to send it to him in the morning.'

Hermione nodded. 'Good night.'

'Night,' said Arabella.

**Thank you for reading :) Next one will be better! Promise! I didn't write the Quidditch Match, because it'll be too long and I didn't know what to do for that. **


	10. The Dueling Club

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter just Arabella. **

**Enjoy! Hope you like it :)**

The Dueling Club

On Sunday morning Hermione was shaking Arabella to wake up.

'Arabella! There's been another attack!' said Hermione.

Arabella was fully awake now. 'Who is it?'

'Colin Creevey,' said Hermione gravely.

'Colin?' said Arabella, astonished. 'Who told you?'

'We overheard Professor McGonagall tell Professor Flitwick when we went and got some breakfast,' said Hermione. 'We have to start making the motion now.'

Arabella nodded. 'Where's Ron?'

'He's in the common room waiting for us. I woke him up first.'

'Ok, give me five minutes.'

With five minutes, Arabella brushed her teeth, washed her face and got dressed.

'Comb you hair,' said Hermione.

'Why? It's fine,' said Arabella, insulted on her hair's behalf.

'No, it's not,' said Hermione, grabbing a brush and attacking Arabella with it.

Another five minutes and they were out of their dormitory and made their way to the common room. Ron was already there with some bacon for Arabella.

'Why didn't you guys wake me up before?' asked Arabella.

'We knew that you'll miss breakfast, so we got some for ourselves and got you some bacon for you. After we heard about the attack, we went and put our cauldron in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom,' said Ron.

'Come on, let's go,' said Hermione.

'Shouldn't we get Harry first?' asked Arabella.

'We should get started first. Harry will know where we are.'

They made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and checked to make sure that nobody saw them. They all walked into a stall, where their cauldron was there with some ingredients.

'Do you want to start?' asked Hermione, opening the book and looking over the steps. 'You've made this before, right?'

Arabella nodded and they began.

'Ok, this is part one,' said Hermione. 'Add three measures of fluxweed to the cauldron.'

Arabella put that in.

This went on for quite some time with Hermione and Ron saying the instructions and Arabella following them.

'It's me,' whispered a voice that just entered the washroom.

Hermione gasped and looking out the stall with one eye.

'Harry!' she said. 'You gave us such a fright – come in – how's your arm?'

'Fine,' said Harry, squeezing into the stall.

'We'd come to see you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion,' Ron explained to Harry, trying to lock up the stall again.

Harry opened his mouth to tell them about Colin, but Arabella interrupted him.

'We already know – Hermione and Ron overheard Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick talking in the morning. That's why we've decided to –'

'The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better,' snarled Ron. 'D'you know what I think? He was in such a foul temper after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin.'

'There's something else,' said Harry, watching Arabella tearing bundles of knotgrass and throwing them into the potion. 'Dobby came to visit me in the middle of the night.'

Ron, Hermione and Arabella looked up, amazed. Harry told them everything Dobby had told him – or hadn't told him. Hermione, Ron and Arabella had listened with their mouths open.

'The Chamber of Secrets has been open before?' Hermione said.

'This settles it,' said Ron is a triumphant voice. 'Lucius Malfoy must've opened the Chamber when he was at school here and now he's told dear old Draco how to do it. It's obvious. Wish Dobby'd told you what kind of monster's in there, though. I want to know how come nobody's noticed it sneaking around the school.'

'Maybe it can turn itself invisible,' said Arabella, prodding leeches to the bottom of the cauldron.

'Or maybe it can disguise itself – pretend to be a suit of armor or something – I've read about Chameleon Ghouls – ' said Hermione.

'You read too much, Hermione,' said Ron, looking back at Harry. 'So Dobby stopped us from getting on the train and broke your arm… You know what, Harry? If he doesn't stop trying to save your life he's going to kill you.'

* * *

In the second week of December Professor McGonagall came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione signed her list. They had heard that Malfoy was staying, which struck them as very suspicious. The holidays would be the perfect time to use the Polyjuice Potion.

Unfortunately, the potion was only half finished. They still needed the bicorn horn and the boomslang skin, and they only place they were going to get them was from Snape's private stores.

Fortunately, Arabella received a package that morning from Remus. She opened it when they were in an empty room.

'Okay, so this box contains all my pranks and stuff like that. It may look like a small box, bit it has an expanding charm, so you can put as much as you want in there,' said Arabella, opening the lid of the box. She took out some objects of various colours and shapes. 'Aha! Here we go!'

She put on the table in front of them a small rectangular shape object that was in pink and yellow stripes. She smiled brightly at them, expecting them to have the same reaction she was.

'What?' said Harry, Ron and Hermione, clearing not understand the significance of what they were looking at. Arabella rolled her eyes and sighed.

'It's a firecracker,' said Arabella. 'It may look small, but it's very effective. If you set it off, it won't go away for at least five minutes or so, unless you put it in something, like a potion. Then it'll make a huge explosion, splashing it on every surface. It'll also give us enough time for one of us to go into Snape's office and take what we need.'

'Impressive,' said Harry. Arabella turned red a bit on her cheeks.

'So, who's going to do the actual stealing?' asked Ron.

'I think I should do it,' said Hermione. 'The three of you will get expelled if you get into any more trouble, and I've got a clean record. I'll give you the signal and you'll set it off.'

'Great then it's settled,' said Arabella, packing up the box and they headed to the common room.

Potions lesson took place an hour later in the dungeons. They were all working on Swelling Solutions, but neither of them could concentrate. Arabella was waiting for Hermione's signal, and hardly listened to Snape when he stopped to sneer at her potion, which wasn't really that bad. When he turned and walked off to bully Neville, Hermione caught Arabella's eye and nodded.

Arabella stretched her arms in front of her and "accidently" knocked down her spoon. She ducked under the table and got out the firecracker from her socks. She gave it two taps with her wand. The firecracker began to fizz and sputter. She got up from under the table and threw it across the chamber into Goyle's cauldron.

Goyle's potion exploded, showering the whole class with the potion. People shrieked as splashes of the Swelling Solution hit them. Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what had happened. Through the confusion, Hermione slipped quietly into Snape's office.

'Silence! SILENCE!' Snape roared. 'Anyone who has been splashed, came here for a Deflating Draught – when I find out who did this – '

Harry tried not to laugh as he watched Malfoy hurry forward, his head drooping with the weight of a nose like a small melon. As half the class lumbered up to Snape's desk, some weighted down with arms like clubs, others unable to talk through gigantic puffed-up lips, Harry saw Hermione slide back into the dungeon, the front of her robes bulging.

When everyone had taken a swig of antidote and the swelling had subsided, Snape swept over to Goyle's cauldron and scooped out the twisted remains of the firework.

'If I ever find out who threw this,' Snape whispered, 'I shall make sure that person is expelled.'

Arabella arranged her face into what seemed like a puzzled expression, but Snape was looking right at her. Thankfully, the bell rang at that time.

'He knew it was you,' Harry told Arabella as the four of them made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. 'It was obvious.'

Arabella shrugged her shoulder, not caring whether or not Snape finds out.

Hermione passed Arabella the ingredients and they began to work again. Stirring the cauldron and throwing the new ingredients into it.

'I'd say about two weeks,' mumbled Arabella, looking into the cauldron. 'Hermione?'

'It'll be done by then,' said Hermione happily.

* * *

A week later, Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione were walking across the entrance hall when they saw a small knot of people gathered around the notice board, reading a piece of parchment that had just been pinned up. Seamus and Dean beckoned them over, looking excited.

'They're starting a Dueling Club!' said Seamus. 'First meeting tonight! I wouldn't mind dueling lessons; they might come in handy one of these days…'

'What, you reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?' said Ron, but he, too, read the sign with interest.

'Could be useful,' he said to Harry, Arabella and Hermione as they went into dinner. 'Shall we go?'

They were all for it, so at eight o'clock that evening they hurried back to the Great Hall. The long tables had vanished and a golden stage had appeared along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead.

'I wonder who'll be teaching us?' said Hermione as they edged into the crowd. 'Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young – maybe it'll be him.'

'As long as it's not –' Harry began, but he ended in a groan: Gilderoy Lockhart was walking onto the stage and accompanied by none other than Snape.

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called, 'Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent! Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions – for full details, see my published works. Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry – you'll still have your Potions mater when I'm through with him, never fear!'

'Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?' Ron muttered in Harry and Arabella's ear.

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

'As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position,' Lockhart told the silent crowd. 'On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course.'

'Darn it,' whispered Arabella. Harry and Ron snickered.

'One – two – three –'

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried: '_Expelliarmus_!' There was a flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes. 'Do you think he's all right?' she squealed through her fingers.

'Who cares?' said Harry, Ron and Arabella together.

Lockhart was getting to his feet.

'Well, there you have it!' he said, walking back to the platform unsteadily. 'That was a Disarming Charm – as you see, I've lost my wand – ah, thank you, Miss Brown – yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but it you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy – however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see…'

Snape looked murderous. Possibly Lockhart had noticed, because he said, 'Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me –'

They moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin, but Snape reached Harry, Ron, Arabella and Hermione first.

'Weasley, you can partner with Finnigan. Potter – '

Harry moved automatically towards Hermione and Arabella, hoping that he'll pick one of them.

'I don't think so,' said Snape, smiling coldly. 'Mr Malfoy, come over here. Let's see what you make of the famous Potter. Miss Granger – you can partner with Miss Bulstrode. And Black, you'll be with Miss Parkinson.'

Malfoy strutted over, smirking. Behind him were two Slytherin girls.

'Parkinson,' snarled Arabella.

'Black,' spat out Parkinson.

'Face your partners!' called Lockhart. 'And bow!'

Arabella and Parkinson didn't bow, but kept looking at each other.

'Wand at the ready!' shouted Lockhart. 'When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents – only to disarm them – we don't want any accidents – one… two… three –'

'_Expelliarmus_!' cried out Arabella, pointing her wand at Pansy.

Pansy's wand flew out of her hand and she skidded back a few paces.

'How dare you!' spat out Pansy. Within a minute, she was on top of Arabella, trying (and failing) to fight her. Arabella fought back. She managed to get the upper hand, after a moment of getting over the shock, by flipping them over and turning Pansy's body towards the floor. Arabella was trying to squash Pansy's face on the floor.

At the corner of Arabella's eye, she could see that Millicent Bulstrode had Hermione in a headlock. She let go of Pansy's face and crept up behind Millicent and threw her body on her back, trying to shock her into releasing Hermione. However, that failed. Millicent kept a hold on Hermione, no matter how hard Arabella was squeezing Millicent's invisible neck. And to her amazing luck, Pansy regained some of her energy and came to Millicent's aid.

It was a huge mess. Millicent had Hermione in a headlock. Arabella was hanging on Millicent's (invisible) neck and Pansy was also on Arabella's back, trying to put _her _in a headlock.

'Stop! Stop!' screamed Lockhart, looking at their mess. They all let go of each other and moved as far away from each other.

'Let's just watch them,' said Arabella, as Harry and Malfoy were on the platform, about to show a demonstration. Hermione nodded, rubbing her neck.

'Thanks by the way,' said Hermione, giving Arabella a smile.

'No problem. Can't have you dying now can we?' said Arabella, rubbing on her neck. Ron made his way over to them.

'You two okay?' he asked. Hermione and Arabella nodded their heads.

'You?' asked Arabella.

'I'm fine. I don't think Seamus is,' said Ron, looking a bit guilty.

They turned their attention to Harry and Malfoy on the platform.

'Three – two – one – go!' shouted Lockhart.

Malfoy raised his wand quickly and bellowed, '_Serpensortia_!'

The end of his wand exploded and a long black snake shot out of it. There were screams as the crowd back swiftly away, clearing the floor. Hermione and Ron backed away a few steps. Arabella didn't move back and wasn't looking at the snake either, she was looking at Harry.

Lockhart offered to get rid of it, but that didn't help. The snake seemed furious and made its way towards Justin. It had its fangs exposed, ready to strike.

Then, Harry hissed at it. He hissed something that made the snake back away from Justin.

'What do you think you're playing at?' said a voice from Arabella's left. It was Justin. Before harry could open his mouth to say something, Justin turned and stormed out of the hall.

Snape stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Everybody was looking at Harry. Arabella, Ron and Hermione made their way towards him and pulled him out of the hall. People on either side of them moved away as though they were frightened of catching something. They walked all the way up to the empty Gryffindor common room. Ron pushed Harry into an armchair and said, 'You're a Parselmouth. Why didn't you tell us?'

'I'm a what?' said Harry.

'_A Parselmouth_!' said Ron. 'You can talk to snakes!'

'I know,' said Harry. 'I mean, that's only the second time I've ever done it. I accidently set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once – long story – but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to – that was before I knew I was a wizard –'

'A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?' Ron repeated faintly.

'So?' said Harry. 'I bet loads of people here can do it.'

'No, they can't,' said Arabella, gravely. 'Harry, it's not a common gift. This is bad.'

'What's bad?' said Harry, starting to feel quite angry. 'What's wrong with everyone? Listen, if I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin –'

'That's what you said?'

'What d'you mean? You were there – you heard me –'

'I heard you speaking Parseltongue,' said Ron. 'Snake language. You could have been saying anything – no wonder Justin panicked, you sounded like you were egging the snake on or something – it was creepy, you know –'

Harry gaped at him.

'I spoke a different language? But I didn't realize – how can I speak a language without knowing I can speak it?'

Ron shook his head. The three of them were looking as though someone had died. Harry didn't see what was so terrible.

'D'you want to tell me what's wrong with stopping a massive snake biting off Justin's head?' he said.

'Harry, Salazar Slytherin used to be able to talk to snakes. That's why the Slytherin symbol is a serpent,' said Arabella.

Harry's mouth fell open.

'Exactly,' said Ron. 'And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great-great-grandson or something –'

'But I'm not,' said Harry, with a panic he couldn't explain.

'You'll find that hard to prove,' said Hermione, finally speaking in a hushed voice. 'He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be.'

* * *

'What I don't get,' said Hermione, later that night in their dormitory, 'is if Harry was a descendant of Slytherin, doesn't that mean that he should be in Slytherin? Hypothetically speaking, of course.'

'Not really,' said Arabella, lying on her bed. Lavender and Parvati already went to bed. Hermione and Arabella stayed up a bit longer to talk about what happened that day. Thankfully, their beds were next to each other.

'What do you mean?' asked Hermione, turning to face Arabella.

'All my family has been in Slytherin for centuries. The only person with the last name Black that wasn't sorted into Slytherin was my father, and looked how that turned out.'

'You're right, but this thing with Harry. It's strange. He's not a Slytherin, that's for sure. Not many people can talk to snakes, and you can't learn it either,' said Hermione.

It was silent for a while. Hermione was staring at the ceiling while Arabella was staring outside of the window, looking at the full moon.

'Did the Sorting Hat think of putting you somewhere else?' asked Hermione suddenly.

'Did he do that for you?' asked Arabella, moving her eyes from the moon.

'The Sorting Hat was trying to choose between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. It said that I certain had the brains for Ravenclaw. It took a while before it decided on Gryffindor. And I know what you're trying to do,' said Hermione, looking at Arabella.

'It was torn between Gryffindor and Slytherin. It was about to pick Slytherin, but in the end decided on Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat said that my family would be proud of me and that I would do great things there. We had a little fight before he finally gave in and put me in Gryffindor,' said Arabella, looking back at the moon.

Hermione was silent for a while, trying to think of what to say next.

'I'm glad you're not in Slytherin,' said Hermione, giving Arabella a smile. 'You're my best friend. That's if you want –'

'Hermione, you're my best friend too,' said Arabella, giving her a reassuring smile.

They didn't say anything for a while. It was a comfortable silence. It was as of their friendship had reached a different level and they didn't even know about it.

'Good night Arabella,' said Hermione.

'Good night Hermione,' said Arabella.

* * *

'For heaven's sake, Harry,' said Hermione. 'Go and find Justin if it's so important to you.'

So Harry got up and left through the portrait hole.

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :)**


	11. The Polyjuice Potion

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella :)**

**Hope you like it! **

The Polyjuice Potion

At last the term ended, and a silence deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the castle. Harry found it peaceful, rather than gloomy, and enjoyed the fact the he, Arabella, Hermione and the Weasleys had the run of Gryffindor Tower.

Christmas morning dawned and Harry and Ron were woken up by Arabella, again.

'WAKE UP! WAKE UP! PRESENTS!' she screamed, jumping on Harry's bed. Hermione went to the window and pulled back the curtains.

'Arabella – shut up,' said Ron, shielding his eyes from the window. Arabella got down from the bed and stuck her tongue out at Ron. She sat down on Neville's bed with Hermione. She was wearing a white and red sweater made by Mrs Weasley.

'Merry Christmas to you, too,' said Hermione, throwing him two presents. 'We've been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion. It's ready.'

Harry sat up suddenly awake.

'Are you sure?'

'Absolutely,' said Arabella, handing him a present. 'If we're going to do it, it should be tonight.'

At that moment, Hedwig swooped into the room, carrying a very small package in her beak.

'Hello,' said Harry. 'Are you speaking to me again?'

'Come on, open your presents,' said Arabella.

After a while of tearing wrapping paper, Harry looked up at Arabella.

'Did you get any strange presents?' he asked. 'Like last year?'

Ron and Hermione were looking at Arabella, too. Ron was curious to hear if she did. Hermione looked confused as to why she would be getting any strange presents.

Arabella tensed up. She was looking at Harry and started tapping her fingers on her knees. Hermione nudged her on the side when she didn't say anything for a while.

'Yeah, I did,' said Arabella. She hesitated before reaching into her pajama pocket and took out a piece of paper. She handed it to Harry.

Ron and Hermione moved to his bed to see what was on the paper as Harry infolded it. On the piece of paper was 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' in cursive at the top and a picture of a woman just below it. The picture was of Arabella, but an older version and some parts slightly different. It was a beautiful picture done with ink. The woman was looking at them with her hair to the side and a smile that could be a smirk at the same time.

'Who is she?' asked Hermione in a hushed voice.

'That's my mom,' said Arabella, taking the picture back and tucking it in her pocket.

'Do you know who sent it to you?' asked Ron. 'Or who sent you the other picture?'

'No, but my uncle has a theory that it was my dad,' said Arabella, lying on Neville's bed.

'But why now?' asked Harry curiously. Arabella shrugged and said nothing.

Suddenly there were yells that could be heard from the common room. They went outside and found that it was Fred and George yelling. They had happy looks on their faces and seemed to be looking for someone.

'ARABELLA!' they yelled simultaneously. They put Arabella into a sandwich hug, squeezing the life out of her.

'What?' Arabella managed to choke out.

'Thank you,' said Fred, rubbing his cheek on top of her head.

'We will always be in your service for this,' said George, smacking her forehead with sloppy kisses.

'Okay, okay, get of me,' said Arabella, wiping George's saliva off her forehead.

'What happened?' asked Ron, looking curious and scared at the same time.

'This amazing person in front of you gave us this,' said Fred, showing them a small blue container with some yellow dots on it.

'What is it?' asked Hermione, also looking curious and scared.

'This, our dear youngsters, is the trick that changes your skins blue and your hair blonde,' said George.

'You gave it to them,' said Ron, his eyes popping out.

'I gave them a small portion of it. They will have to figure out how to make more of it if they want,' said Arabella.

'What?!' yelled Fred and George.

'Didn't you read the letter I gave you with it?' asked Arabella.

'No.'

'It said that if you figure out how to make more of this stuff,' she said, pointing at the object in Fred's hands, 'then I'll give you the colour bomb. But you'll have to figure out how to make that too.'

'But why,' said George, horrified.

'I had to make them from scratch. I'm not just going to _give _them to you. You'll have to earn it. If you can't make some more of the blue liquid, then you won't get the colour bomb, or any of the other things I have,' said Arabella, her hands on her hips and giving them a stern look.

Fred and George nodded and quickly left to their dormitory, eager to start experimenting to get the other stuff.

'You've doomed us all,' said Harry in horror.

'They'll take a long time to figure it out. It's not easy to make them and I didn't give them much to work with,' said Arabella, shrugging her shoulder.

* * *

Harry and Ron had barely finished their third helpings of Christmas pudding when Arabella and Hermione dragged them out of the hall to talk about their plans for the evening.

'We still need a bit of the people you're changing into,' said Hermione. 'And obviously, it'll be best of you can get something of Crabbe's, Goyle's and Pansy's; they're Malfoy's best friends, he'll tell them anything. Pansy loves Malfoy, he'll probably tell her anything, too. And we also need to make sure the real Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy can't burst in on us while we're interrogating him.'

'We've filled these three chocolate cakes with Sleeping Draught. We'll have to make sure that they find it and eat them. Crabbe and Goyle will be easy to fool, but not Pansy. Hopefully she'll take them, if not I have another plan. Once they're asleep, we'll take some of their hairs and hide them in a nearby closet,' said Arabella, holing some chocolate cakes.

Harry and Ron looked doubtfully at each other.

'I don't think –'

'That could go seriously wrong –'

Arabella started to glare at them dangerously.

'Aren't you the ones that wanted to find out whether or not he was the Heir of Slytherin?' asked Arabella, she didn't wait for their answer. 'We need to get their hairs. It'll be useless without them and a complete waste of our time these past couple of weeks.'

'Oh, all right, all right,' said Harry. 'But, Hermione, what about you? Whose hair are you ripping out?'

'I've already got mine!' said Hermione brightly, pulling out a tiny bottle out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it. 'Remember Millicent Bulstrode wrestling with me ('Us,' coughed Arabella.), yes, yes, us, at the Dueling Club? She left this on my robes when she was trying to strangle me! And she's gone home for Christmas – so I'll just have to tell the Slytherins I've decided to come back.'

When Hermione had gone off the check on the Polyjuice Potion again, Ron turned to Harry and Arabella with a pessimistic expression.

'Have you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong?'

Arabella hit him over the head. 'Get over it. We have work to do.'

She turned on her heel and walked the opposite way. A few minutes later she came back.

'Other way,' she said, avoiding their eyes and continued to walk. Harry and Ron followed her, trying not to literally laugh behind her back.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Arabella waited on the other side of the deserted entrance hall after Christmas tea, waiting for Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy. Harry had put the chocolate cake on the end of the banisters. When they spotted Crabbe and Goyle coming out of the Great Hall, Harry, Ron and Arabella hid quickly behind a suit of armor next to the door. They watched at Crabbe and Goyle stuff the whole cake into their mouths. Then, they both kneeled over backward onto the floor.

They got them into the closet across the hall and took out some of their hairs. They saw Pansy enter the entrance hall and quickly hid again. She took one look at the cake and left without touching it.

'Damn!' whispered Arabella. 'I thought this might happen. Come, quick.'

Ron quickly grabbed the last remaining cake on the banister and followed Pansy. Arabella got some of the cake in her hand and pulled out something from inside her robes. She stuffed some of the cake in it. Pansy turned into a different corridor and Arabella threw the object after her. She covered her mouth with her sleeve and Harry and Ron did the same. A few moments later, the heard a thump and saw that Pansy was knocked out on the floor.

'What did you do to her?' whispered Ron.

'The same thing with did to Crabbe and Goyle. I used the potion from the cakes and put them in that box. Usually, it gives off some sort of smell if you put something in it, like roses or something. But it works the same with potions, too,' said Arabella, dragging Pansy's body to a nearby closet and taking out some of her hairs.

'Is she going to be okay?' asked Harry.

'She'll be fine. It works just them same if she ate the cake. She'll be fine,' said Arabella. She put the cake beside her and closed the door.

'Where did you get this from?' asked Ron, handing her the object from the floor.

'Somewhere near Gloucester,' said Arabella, pocketing it. 'Me and my uncle were trying to find a candle that smelled like chocolate and found this instead.'

'Come on, let's go,' said Harry. They made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They knocked softly on the door.

'Hermione?'

They heard the scrape of the lock and Hermione emerge.

'What took you so long?' asked Hermione angrily.

'Pansy didn't eat the cake,' said Arabella.

'Didn't you use that smelling thing?' said Hermione.

'Of course I did! Or else we wouldn't be here right now,' said Arabella, entering the bathroom. They went to the stall that the potion was in.

'Okay, I've got us some Slytherin robes from the laundry,' said Hermione, holding up a small sack. 'We'll each take on cup of the potion and a set of robes. Harry and Ron will take the bigger sizes. Are you ready?'

The three of them nodded. They all looked into the cauldron.

'I'm sure we did everything right,' said Hermione, nervously. 'It says that once we've drunk it, we'll have exactly an hour before we change back into ourselves.'

'Now what?' Ron whispered.

'We separate it into three glasses and add the hairs.'

Hermione poured large portions of the potion into their glasses. Then she added Millicent Bulstrode's hair into the first glass. The potion hissed loudly like a boiling kettle and bubbled madly. A second later, it had turned a sick sort of yellow.

'Urgh – essence of Millicent Bulstrode,' said Ron, eyeing it with loathing. 'Bet it tastes disgusting.'

'Add your, then,' said Hermione.

Harry dropped Goyle's hair into the glass next to Hermione's and Ron put Crabbe's into the one next to it. Both glasses hissed and bubbled: Goyle's turned a colour of booger; Crabbe's a dark, murky brown.

Harry nudged Arabella on the side as she looked at the glasses with a disgusted expression. She looked at Pansy's hair and put it into the last glass. It hissed and turned into a puke green colour.

'Hang on,' said Harry as Ron, Hermione and Arabella reached for their glasses. 'We'd better not all drink them in here… Once we turn into Crabbe and Goyle we won't fit. And Millicent and Pansy are no pixies.'

'Good thinking,' said on, unlocking the door. 'We'll take separate stalls.'

Carefully taking their Polyjuice Potions, they all slipped into different stalls.

'Ready?' called Harry.

'Ready,' came Ron and Hermione's voice.

'Let's just get this over with,' said Arabella.

'One – two – three –'

Arabella took another look at the potion and took large gulps. It tasted like rotten onions.

Her inside started to grumble, like they were moving. She doubled over, and a burning sensation was spreading all over her body. She looked at her hands and saw that they were changing, so was the rest of her body. Her hands became smaller and the bones were shown more. She seems to shrink down a few inches and her hair shortened. Her eyes were burning as they changed a different colour.

Then, everything stopped. Arabella was on the floor of the bathroom, breathing with some difficulty. After a few moments, she got off the floor. She took off her clothes and put on the Slytherin ones. She straightened out everything and left the stall. She went to the mirror to see how she looked. Well, she looked like Pansy. It was a horrible feeling.

'Are you okay?' came a voice from one of the stalls.

'Yeah,' came another voice.

Then two figures came out of the stalls. They all looked at each other with their mouths open.

'This is unbelievable,' said Ron, approaching the mirror and prodding Crabbe's flat nose. 'Unbelievable.'

'We better get going,' said Harry. 'We've still got to find out where the Slytherin common room is. I only hope we can find someone to follow…'

Arabella went to Hermione's stall. 'C'mon, Hermione, we need to –'

'I – I don't think I'm going to come after all. You go on without me.'

'Hermione, we know Millicent's ugly. Pansy's no princess either. No one's going to know –'

Harry looked at Arabella, bewildered.

'That looks more like Goyle,' said Ron. 'That's how he looks every time a teacher asks him a question.'

'Hermione, are you okay?' said Harry through the door.

'Fine – I'm fine – go on –'

Harry looked at his watch. Five if their precious sixty minutes had already passed.

'We'll meet you back here, all right?' he said.

Harry, Ron and Arabella opened the door of the bathroom carefully, checked that the coast was clear, and set off.

'Don't swing your arms like that,' Harry muttered to Ron. He turned to Arabella. 'Look like you have something stuck up your arse.'

They went down the marble staircase. All they needed now was a Slytherin that they could follow to the Slytherin common room, but there was nobody around.

'Any ideas?' muttered Harry.

'The Slytherins always come up to breakfast from over there,' said Ron, nodding at the entrance to the dungeons. As soon as he said that, a girl with long, curly hair emerged from the entrance.

'Excuse me,' said Ron, hurrying up to her. 'We've forgotten the way to our common room.'

'I beg your pardon?' said the girl stiffly. 'Our common room? I'm a Ravenclaw.'

She walked away, looking suspiciously back at them.

Harry, Ron and Arabella hurried down the stone steps. The passages were deserted and they constantly kept checking their watch to see how much time they had left. After a quarter of an hour, they heard a sudden movement ahead.

'Ha!' said Ron excitedly. 'There's one of them now!'

The figure was emerging from a side room. As they hurried nearer, they realized that it wasn't a Slytherin. It was Percy.

'What are _you _doing here?' said Arabella, crossing her arms and looking at him in disgust, like a real Pansy.

Percy looked insulted.

'That,' he said stiffly, 'is none of your business. It's Pansy Parkinson, isn't it?'

'And what if it is?' said Arabella, giving him a weird look.

'Well, go off to your dormitories,' said Percy sternly. 'It's not safe to go wandering around dark corridors these days.'

'_You are_,' Arabella pointed out with a small annoying high pitched voice.

'I am a prefect. Nothing's about to attack me.'

A voice suddenly echoed behind them. Malfoy was walking towards them, and for the first time in their lives, they were happy to see him.

'There you are,' he drawled, looking at them. 'Have you two been pigging out in the Great Hall all this time? Where have you been Pansy? I've been looking for the three of you; I want to show you something really funny.'

Malfoy glanced at Percy.

'And what are you doing down here, Weasley?' he sneered.

Percy looked outraged.

'You want to show a bit more respect to a school prefect!' he said. 'I don't like your attitude!'

Malfoy sneered and motioned for Harry, Ron and Arabella to follow him.

'That Peter Weasley –'

'Percy,' Ron corrected him.

'Whatever,' said Malfoy. 'I've noticed him sneaking around a lot lately. And I bet I what he's up to. He thinks he's going to catch Slytherin's heir single-handed.'

He gave a short, derisive laugh. He paused by a stretch of bare, damp stone wall.

'Pure-blood,' said Malfoy and a stone wall concealed in the wall slid open. Malfoy marched through and they followed him.

'Wait here,' said Malfoy to Harry, Ron and Arabella, motioning them to a pair of empty chairs set back from the fire. 'I'll go and get it – my father's just sent it to me –'

Wondering what Malfoy was going to show them, Harry, Ron and Arabella sat down, doing their best to look at home.

Malfoy came back a minute later, holding what looked like a newspaper. He pretty much threw it at Arabella.

'That'll give you a laugh,' he said.

Harry saw Arabella's eyes widen in shock. She read it quickly, gave a very forced, high pitched laugh and gave it to Ron and Harry.

It had been clipped out of the _Daily Prophet_, and it said:

INQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car. Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley's resignation. 'Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute,' Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. 'He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately.' Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she'd set the family ghoul on them.

'Well?' said Malfoy impatiently as they handed the clipping back to him. 'Don't you think it's funny?'

'Ha, ha,' said Ron and Harry bleakly.

'Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them,' said Malfoy scornfully. 'You'd never know the Weasleys were pureblood, the way they behave.'

Ron's — or rather, Crabbe's — face was contorted with fury.

'What's up with you, Crabbe?' snapped Malfoy.

'Stomach ache,' Ron grunted.

'Well, go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick from me,' said Malfoy, snickering. 'You know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't reported all these attacks yet,' he went on thoughtfully. 'I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. He'll be sacked if it doesn't stop soon. Father's always said old Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to this place. He loves Muggle-borns. A decent headmaster would never've let slime like that Creevey in.'

'Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend,' said Malfoy slowly. 'He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped-up Granger Mudblood or that disgrace of a Black. And people think he's Slytherin's heir!'

Harry, Ron and Arabella waited with bated breath: Malfoy was surely seconds away from telling them it was him — but then —

'I wish I knew who it is,' said Malfoy petulantly. 'I could help them.'

Ron's jaw dropped so that Crabbe looked even more clueless than usual. Fortunately, Malfoy didn't notice, and Harry, thinking fast, said, 'You must have some idea who's behind it all. . . .'

'You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?' snapped Malfoy. 'And Father won't tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and it'll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing — last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time. . . . I hope it's Granger,' he said with relish.

'Do you know if that person was caught, Draco?' asked Arabella in a sweet voice. It was weird coming from her in Pansy's body.

'Oh, yeah… whoever it was was expelled,' said Malfoy. 'They're probably still in Azkaban.'

'Azkaban?' said Harry, puzzled.

'Azkaban – the wizard prison, Goyle,' said Malfoy, looking at him in disbelief. 'Honestly, if you were any slower, you'd be going backward.'

'Ho!' said Ron.

Malfoy looked at him. So did Harry and Arabella. Ron's hair was turning red. His nose started to lengthened – their hour was up, Ron was turning back into himself, and so were Harry and Arabella.

They jumped to their feet.

'Medicine for my stomach,' Ron grunted.

'Time of the month,' said Arabella, holding her stomach. 'I'll probably bleed all over this place if I don't go and take care of it right now.'

And with that, they left the Slytherin common room. They were running through the passages while their clothes started to fell loose around them.

They finally made it to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and closed the door. As soon as the door clicked shut. Arabella started to hit Harry

'I told you he wasn't the Heir,' said Arabella, hitting him after every word.

'Okay – okay – stop it,' said Harry, rubbing her shoulder. Arabella turned her attention to Ron and hit him too.

'Stop it,' said Ron, trying to block her attacks.

Arabella stopped and leaned against the door, exhausted.

'Well, that was a complete waste of time,' said Ron, rubbing his shoulder.

Harry and Arabella checked the mirror and, to their relief, saw that they were back to normal. Ron went to Hermione's stall and knocked on the door.

'Hermione, come out, we've got loads to tell you –'

'Go away!' Hermione squeaked.

They all looked at each other.

'What's the matter Hermione?' said Ron. 'You must be back to normal by now, we are –'

But Moaning Myrtle glided suddenly through the stall door. She was looking happy.

'Oooooooh, wait till you see,' she said. 'It's awful –'

They heard the lock slide back and Hermione merged, sobbing, her robes pulled up over her head.

'What's up?' said Ron uncertainly. 'Have you still got Millicent's nose or something?'

Hermione let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.

Her face was covered in black fur. Her eyes had turned yellow and there were long, pointed ears poking through her hair.

'It was a c –cat hair!' she howled. 'M –Millicent must have a c –cat! And the p –potion isn't suppoed to be used for animal transformations!'

'Uh –oh,' said Ron.

'You'll be teased something dreadful,' said Myrtle happily.

'Shut up Myrtle,' snapped Arabella. 'Everything's going to be okay Hermione.'

'We'll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions…'

It took a long time to persuade Hermione to leave the bathroom. Moaning Myrtle sped them on their way with a hearty laugh. 'Wait till everyone finds out you've got a tail!'

**Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it :)**


	12. The Very Secret Diary

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella **

**Hope you like it :)**

The Very Secret Diary

Hermione remained in the hospital wing for several weeks. Every evening, Harry, Ron and Arabella went to visit her. When the new term started, they brought her each day's homework.

'If I'd sprouted whiskers, I'd take a break from work,' said Ron, tipping a stack of books onto Hermione's bedside table one evening.

'Don't be silly, Ron, I've got to keep up,' said Hermione. Her spirits were greatly improved by the fact that all the hair had gone from her face and her eyes were turning slowly back to brown. 'I don't suppose you've got any new leads?' she added in a whisper, so that Madam Pomfrey couldn't hear her.

'Nothing,' said Harry gloomily.

'I was so sure it was Malfoy,' said Ron, for about the hundredth time.

'I told you,' said Arabella, also for the hundredth time.

'What's that?' asked Harry, pointing to something gold sticking out from under Hermione's pillow.

'Just a get well card,' said Hermione hastily, trying to poke it out of sight, but Ron was too quick for her. He pulled it out, flicked it open and read aloud:

_To Miss Granger, wishing you a speedy recovery, from your concerned teacher, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award._

Ron looked up at Hermione, disgusted.

'You sleep with this under your pillow?'

But Hermione was spared answering by Madam Pomfrey sweeping over her evening dose of medicine.

'Is Lockhart the creepiest bloke you've ever met, or what?' Ron said to Harry and Arabella as they left the infirmary and started up the stairs toward Gryffindor tower, when they heard an angry outburst from the floor above.

'That's Filch,' Harry muttered as they hurried up the stairs and paused, out of sight, listening hard.

'You don't think somebody else has been attacked?' said Arabella, tensing up.

They stood still, their heads inclined toward Filch's voice, which sounded quite hysterical.

' – _even more work for me! Mopping all night like I haven't got enough to do! No, this is the final straw, I'm going to Dumbledore – '_

His footsteps retreated along an out of sight corridor and they heard a distant door slam.

The poked their heads around the corner. Filch was at his usual lookout post where Mrs Norris was attacked. They saw a glance at what Filch was shouting about. A great flood of water stretched over half the corridor, and it looked as though it was still seeping from under the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Now that Filch had stopped shouting, they could hear Myrtle's wails echoing off the bathroom walls.

'Now what's up with her?' said Ron.

'A number of things,' said Arabella. 'Let's go find out.'

Holding their robes over their ankles, they stepped through the water and to the door with the out of order sign and entered. Moaning Myrtle was crying, if possible, louder and harder than ever before. She seemed to be hiding down her usual toilet.

'What's up, Myrtle?' said Harry.

'Who's that?' glugged Myrtle miserably. 'Come to thrown something else at me?'

Harry waded across to her stall and said, 'Why would I throw something at you?'

'Don't ask me,' Myrtle shouted, emerging with a wave of yet more water, which splashed onto the already sopping floor. 'Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me…'

'But it can't hurt you, Myrtle,' said Arabella. 'It would just go through you.'

Apparently she said the wrong thin. Myrtle puffed herself up and shrieked, 'Let's all throw books at Myrtle, because she can't feel it! Ten points if you can get it through her stomach! Fifty points if it goes through her head! Well, ha, ha, ha! What a lovely game, I don't think!'

'Who threw it at you, anyway?' asked Harry.

'I don't know… I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and it fell right through the top of my head,' said Myrtle, glaring at them. 'It's over there, it got washed out…'

Harry, Ron and Arabella looked under the sink where Myrtle was pointing. A small, thin book lay there. It had a shabby black cover and was as wet as everything else in the bathroom. Harry stepped forward to pick it up, but Ron suddenly flung out an arm to hold him back.

'What?' said Harry.

'Are you crazy?' said Ron. 'It could be dangerous.'

'He's right,' said Arabella. 'Something could be wrong with it.'

'Dangerous,' said Harry, laughing. 'Come off it, what could be wrong with it?'

'You'd be surprise,' said Ron, who was looking uneasily at the book. 'Some of the books at the Ministry's confiscated – Dad's told me – there was one that burned your eyes out. And everyone who read _Sonnets of a Sorcerer _spoke in limericks for the rest of their lives. And some – '

'All right, I've got the point,' said Harry.

The book lay on the floor, unremarkable and soggy.

'Well, we won't find out unless we look at it,' he said, and he ducked around Ron and picked it up off the floor.

Harry saw at once that it was a diary, and the faded year on the cover told him it was fifty years old. He opened it eagerly. On the first page he could just make out the name 'T.M. Riddle' in smudged ink.

'Hang on,' said Ron, who was looking over his shoulder with Arabella. 'I know that name… T.M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago.'

'How do you know that?' said Arabella in amazement.

'Because Filch made me polish his shield about fifty times in detention,' said Ron resentfully. 'That was the one I burped slugs all over. If you'd wiped slime off a name for an hour, you'd remember it, too.'

Harry peeled the wet pages apart. They were completely blank.

'He never wrote in it,' said Harry, disappointed.

'I wonder why someone wanted to flush it away?' said Ron curiously.

'Probably thought that it might hit Myrtle or something,' Arabella whispered.

Harry turned to the back cover of the book and saw the printed name of a variety store on Vauxhall Road, London.

'He must have been Muggle-born,' said Harry thoughtfully.

'Well, it's not much use to you,' said Ron. He dropped his voice. 'Fifty points if you can get it through Myrtle's nose.'

Harry, however, pocketed it.

* * *

Hermione left the hospital wing at the beginning of February. On her first evening back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry showed her T.M. Riddle's diary and told her the story of how they had found it.

'Oooh, it might have hidden powers,' said Hermione enthusiastically, taking the diary and looking at it closely.

'If it has, it's hiding them very well,' said Ron. 'Maybe it's shy. I don't know why you don't chuck it, Harry.'

'I wish I knew why someone did try to chuck it,' said Harry.

'They probably didn't want it anymore and wanted to get rid of it,' said Arabella.

'In a bathroom? Really?' said Harry. Arabella shrugged.

'I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special service to Hogwarts either,' said Harry.

'Could've been anything,' said Ron. 'Maybe he got thirty OWLS or saved a teacher for the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would have done everybody a favour…'

But harry could tell from the looks on Hermione and Arabella's faces that they were thinking the same thing he was.

'What?' said Ron, looking at them.

'Well, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, wasn't it?' he said. 'That's what Malfoy said.'

'Yeah…' said Ron slowly.

'And this diary is fifty years old,' said Hermione, tapping it excitedly.

'So?'

'Oh, for Merlin's sake,' snapped Arabella. 'The person that opened the Chamber last was expelled fifty years ago. This Riddle person got an award for special services fifty years ago. Riddle probably got the award for catching the Heir of Slytherin.'

'His diary would probably tell us everything – where the Chamber is, and how to open it, and what sort of creature live in it – the person who's behind the attacks this time wouldn't want that lying around, would they?' said Hermione.

'That's a brilliant theory,' said Ron, 'with just one tiny little flaw. There's nothing written in his diary.'

But Hermione was pulling her wand out of her bag.

'It might be invisible ink!' she whispered.

She tapped the diary three times and said, '_Aparecium_!'

Nothing happened. Hermione then pulled out what appeared to be a bright red eraser.

'It's a Revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley,' she said.

She rubbed hard on January first. Nothing happened.

'I'm telling you, there's nothing to find in there,' said Ron. 'Riddle just got a diary for Christmas and couldn't be bothered filling it in.'

* * *

After a late-running Quidditch practice the previous night, Harry woke up slightly late and hurried down to the Great Hall. For a moment, he thought that he walked into the wrong doors.

The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. Harry went over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron and Arabella was sitting looking sickened, and Hermione seemed to have been overcome with giggles.

'What's going on?' Harry asked them.

'Take a guess,' said Arabella, pointing her thumb at Lockhart.

At the teacher's table, Lockhart was standing up and waving for silence.

'Happy Valentine's Day!' Lockhart shouted. 'And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all – and it doesn't end here!'

Lockhart clapped his hands and though the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

'My friendly, card-carrying cupids!' beamed Lockhart. 'They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!'

'Please, Hermione, tell me you weren't one of the forty-six,' said Ron as they left the Great Hall for their first lesson. Hermione suddenly became very interested in searching her bag for her schedule and didn't answer.

All day long, the dwarfs kept barging into their classes to deliver valentines, to the annoyance of the teachers, and late that afternoon as the Gryffindors were walking upstairs for Charms, one of the dwarfs caught up with Harry while he was with Arabella.

"Oy, you! 'Arry Potter!" shouted a particularly grim-looking dwarf, elbowing people out of the way to get to Harry. Hot all over at the thought of being given a valentine in front of a line of first years, which happened to include Ginny Weasley, Harry tried to escape. The dwarf, however, cut his way through the crowd by kicking people's shins, and reached him before he'd gone two paces.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way.

"Not here," Harry hissed, trying to escape.

"Stay still!" grunted the dwarf, grabbing hold of Harry's bag and pulling him back.

'Let me go,' Harry snarled, tugging. Arabella was beside him, laughing.

With a loud ripping noise, his bag split in two. His books, wand, parchment, and quill spilled onto the floor and his ink bottle smashed over everything.

Harry and Arabella tried to pick it all up before the dwarf started singing, causing something of a holdup in the corridor.

'What's going on here?' came the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. Harry and Arabella just started to stuff things into his ripped bag, desperate to get away before Malfoy could hear his musical.

"What's all this commotion?" said another familiar voice as Percy Weasley arrived.

Losing his head, Harry tried to make a run for it with Arabella, but the dwarf seized him around the knees and brought him crashing to the floor.

'Hey! You can't do that!' exclaimed Arabella, looking furious at the dwarf.

The dwarf ignored her and sat on Harry's ankles. He began to sing:

_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, _

_His hair is as dark as a blackboard. _

_I wish he was mine, he's really divine, _

_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord. _

Harry would have given all the gold in Gringotts to evaporate on the spot. Trying to laugh along with everyone else, Arabella helped him up to his feet. Arabella was also laughing, but her cheeks seemed to be red. Percy did his best to disperse the crowd, some of whom was crying with laughter.

Harry looked around and saw that Malfoy had snatched something from the ground. He realized that Malfoy just got Riddle's diary.

'Give that back,' said Harry quietly.

'Wonder what Potter's written in this?' said Malfoy, who obviously didn't notice the year on the cover and though he had Harry's own diary. A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from the diary to Harry, looking horrified.

'Give it back, Malfoy,' said Arabella. 'Want me to punch you again?'

Malfoy glared at her. He threw it to Harry's face and sulked away. He was looking furious, and as he passed Ginny, he yelled spitefully at her, 'I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!'

Ginny covered her face with her hands and ran into class. Arabella was about to go after Malfoy, but Harry stopped her.

It wasn't until they reached Professor Flitwick's class that Harry noticed that something was rather odd about Riddle's diary. All his books were covered in ink, while the diary was still clean. He pointing it out to Ron, but he was having trouble with his wand again. He was about to show this to Arabella, but saw that she was about to fall asleep.

* * *

'Hey, Fred, George,' said Arabella, later that evening. Harry just went up to bed, and Ron and Hermione were working on some homework near the fireplace.

'Hey, Arabella,' they said. They just finished singing Harry's valentine in front of everybody.

'Have you seen Ginny? I haven't talked to her in a while,' asked Arabella.

'She said that she was tired and wanted to get some rest,' replied Fred.

'So, did you figure out how to make more of the potion?' smirked Arabella.

Fred and George shook their heads, looking down miserably.

'Don't worry,' said Arabella. 'It took me five years to make it.'

She left to go join Ron and Hermione, all the while laughing at them.

'What's funny?' asked Ron, looking up.

'Nothing,' said Arabella smiling. 'Just Fred and George.'

* * *

Later that night, Arabella and Hermione entered their dormitory with Lavender and Parvati behind them. As they got ready for bed, there was a tap on the window. It was a yellow owl that Arabella recognized. It was Nymphadora's owl. She went to the window and got the letter and the owl flew away.

She opened the letter and read:

_Arabella, _

_Thanks for the present. The jacket's really nice. _

_Things here are fine. Don't know if Remus told you about Mad-Eye or not, but he's been giving me a really hard time. I play one tiny little prank and all of a sudden I'm being watched. It was that blue liquid thing you and Remus made a couple years ago. The one that turns the person blue and their hair yellow. Everyone thought that it was funny, except Mad-Eye. I think that I'm starting to get back on his good side, though I don't really know if he has one. He occasionally asks about you, how you are and if everything's okay._

_Anyway, everything's okay. Mum and dad went on a vacation and left me here all alone. I didn't even have Remus with me! I was all alone L Hope everything's going okay and that you're giving Snape hell. _

_Lots of love, Tonks. _

Arabella chuckled at the letter and put it on her bedside table.

'So, Arabella,' said Lavender, 'did you get anything today?'

'No, why?' said Arabella, looking at her, Parvati and Hermione. They all had the same sort of smile and seemed to be in on the same secret.

'Nothing?' said Parvati. 'Not even from a friend? Say, like Harry?'

Arabella's eyes widened and she started to fidget.

'Me and Harry are just friends,' she said hotly. 'Nothing more.'

'Are you sure?' said Lavender, smiling at her. 'We can all see it. I think you two would be cute together.'

Arabella kept silent.

'I told her that,' said Hermione towards Lavender and Parvati. 'She wouldn't listen. Too stubborn this one.'

'Well if you didn't get anything, did you give one?' asked Parvati. Arabella shook her head, trying to block out their voices.

Soon after, Lavender and Parvati gave up on Arabella and went to sleep. Hermione, however, was still awake. She went over to Arabella's bed and laid there beside her.

'Hey, Arabella,' she said while poking her cheeks.

'Yes Hermione,' said Arabella swatting her hands away.

'Why don't you admit that you like Harry? Are you afraid of being rejected?' said Hermione.

Arabella said nothing for a while, letting Hermione believe that she was asleep. That however, didn't work and Hermione kept poking Arabella again.

'I'm not afraid of being rejected. And I don't like Harry. He's just a friend. That's it,' said Arabella, turning away from Hermione.

'Bullshit,' said Hermione. Arabella turned back to her. Hermione swore for the first time and Arabella couldn't believe it.

'You like him and you're afraid,' said Hermione.

'There are things I'm afraid of. This is not one of it,' said Arabella.

'Fine. Live in denial,' said Hermione, getting up and moving to her bed. 'Don't forget this. When that dwarf sang Harry's valentine, I saw that you started to blush. You can deny it all you want, but everybody can see the truth. Except for Harry.'

Hermione turned the other way and fell asleep.

Arabella stayed up for a while, thinking about what Hermione just told her.

_I like Harry? Harry Potter? Really? Sure, he's nice and everything, but he's my friend _she thought.

_Yes, but _another part of her that sounded like Hermione. _He's been there for you, and vice versa. _

_So? Hermione and Ron have also been there for me. And my conscience is Hermione? Really? _argued the other part.

_But have you very gotten that feeling in your stomach when you see them? And of course it's Hermione's voice! Who did you expect? _Said the Hermione part of her.

_No, but that doesn't mean anything. I could have just eaten something bad at that time or something. Probably my voice or something. Not yours _

_Keep telling yourself that, which you are. _

_Shut up, you're wrong. _

_Technically, you're wrong. You're losing a battle within yourself. You really need to get a handle on your life, just saying. _

Arabella turned over, trying to stop her thoughts from depriving her of sleep.

**Thank you for reading! hope you liked it :)**


	13. Cornelius Fudge

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella. **

**Most of this chapter is the plot, especially towards the end, so it's not the best chapter. **

Cornelius Fudge

'Riddle might have got the wrong person,' said Hermione. 'Maybe it was some other monster that was attacking people…'

'How many monsters d'you think this place can hold?' Ron asked dully.

'We always knew Hagrid had been expelled,' said Harry miserably. 'And the attacks must've stopped after Hagrid was kicked out. Otherwise, Riddle wouldn't have got his award.'

Ron tried a different tack.

'Riddle does sound like Percy – who asked him to squeal on Hagrid, anyway?'

'The monster killed someone, Ron,' said Arabella, rolling her eyes.

'And Riddle was going to go back to some Muggle orphanage if they closed Hogwarts,' said Harry. 'I don't blame him for wanting to stay here…'

'You met Hagrid down Knockturn Alley, didn't you?' asked Arabella.

'He was buying a Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent,' said Harry quickly.

The four of them fell silent. After a long pause, Hermione voiced the knottiest question of all in a hesitant voice.

'Do you think we should go and ask Hagrid about it all?'

'That'd be a cheerful visit,' said Ron. ''Hello, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?''

In the end, they decided that they would not say anything to Hagrid unless there was another attack.

* * *

The second years were given something new to think about during their Easter holidays. The time had come to choose their subjects for the third year, a matter that Hermione took very seriously.

'It could affect our whole future,' she told them.

In the end, Harry, Ron and Arabella all choose the same subjects together. At least if one of them was lousy at it, they will have each other to help.

* * *

'Perfect Quidditch conditions!' said Wood enthusiastically at the Gryffindor table. 'Harry, buck up there, you need a decent breakfast.'

Harry had been staring down the Gryffindor table, wondering if the new owner of Riddle's diary was right in front of his eyes.

'Harry, you have to eat something,' said Arabella. 'Do you want me to stuff toast down your throat again?'

Harry shook his head and started to nibble on some toast.

As he left the Great Hall with Ron, Arabella and Hermione to go and collect his Quidditch things, another very serious worry was added to Harry's growing list.

'_Kill this time… let me rip… tear…'_

He shouted aloud and Ron, Arabella and Hermione jumped away from him in alarm.

'The voice!' said Harry, looking over his shoulder. 'I just heard it again – didn't you?'

Ron and Arabella shook their heads. Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead.

'Harry – I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!'

And she sprinted away, up the stairs.

'What does she understand?' said Harry distractedly, still looking around, trying to tell where the voice had come from.

'More than we'll ever know,' said Arabella as Ron was shaking his head.

'But why's she got to go to the library?'

'Because that's what Hermione does,' said Ron, shrugging. 'When in doubt, go to the library.'

Harry stood trying to catch the voice again, but people were now emerging from the Great Hall behind him, talking loudly and on their way to the Quidditch pitch.

'You'd better get moving,' said Ron. 'It's nearly eleven – the match –'

* * *

'The match has been canceled,' Professor McGonagall called through the megaphone. 'All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of House will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!'

Then she lowered the megaphone and beckoned Harry over to her.

'Potter, I think you'd better come with me…'

Wondering how she could possibly suspect him this time, Harry saw Ron and Arabella move away from the crowd. They came running up to them as they set off towards the castle. To Harry's surprise, Professor McGonagall didn't object.

'Yes, perhaps you'd better come, too, Weasley, Black…'

Harry, Ron and Arabella followed Professor McGonagall back into the school and up the marble staircase.

'This will be a bit of a shock,' said Professor McGonagall in a surprising gentle voice as they approached the infirmary. 'There has been another attack… another double attack.'

Professor McGonagall pushed the door open and they entered.

'Hermione!' Ron groaned.

Hermione lay on a bed next to the Ravenclaw student that they asked for directions. She was still and her eyes were open and glassy.

'They were found near the library,' said Professor McGonagall. 'I don't suppose either of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them…'

She was holding up a small, circular mirror. Harry, Ron and Arabella shook their heads, staring at Hermione.

'I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower,' said Professor McGonagall. 'I need to address the students in any case.'

'Will she be alright?' asked Arabella, her voice breaking. She looked close to tears, but managed to blink them away.

'I hope so, Miss Black,' said Professor McGonagall gravely, putting a hand on Arabella's shoulder.

* * *

'All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities. I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward.'

The Gryffindors packed inside the common room listened to professor McGonagall in silence. She rolled up the parchment and climbed out of the portrait hole. As soon as she left, the Gryffindors began talking immediately.

'There's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff,' said Lee, counting on his fingers. 'Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin – why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?' he roared, to nods and scattered applause.

'You can't just chuck them out because none of them have been stacked,' said Arabella, looking annoyed at this whole situation.

'It's probably one of them that's doing it or you,' said a Gryffindor that they didn't know.

'And why would I want to attack any of the Muggle-borns? My best friend is a Muggle-born,' said Arabella, her voice dripping with venom towards the unknown Gryffindor.

'You're a Black. You don't need a reason,' said the smug Gryffindor.

Arabella was about to get off her seat to make her way towards him, but Fred and George stopped her. They brought her over towards Harry and Ron and went to go have a few words with the unnamed Gryffindor.

'What're we going to do?' said Ron quietly to Harry and Arabella. 'D'you think they suspect Hagrid?'

'We have to go talk to him,' said Arabella. 'I don't believe that he's the one who's doing all of this, but if he did open it the last time, he'll know where the Chamber is and how to get there. It's a start.'

'But McGonagall said we're got to stay in our towers unless we're in class –'

'I think,' said Harry, 'it's time to get my dad's old cloak out again.'

* * *

That night, Harry and Ron met Arabella in the common room. It took them a while to get out of the castle. The corridors were full of teachers, prefects and ghosts. It was a relief when they reached the front doors and eased them open.

They hurried towards Hagrid's house and pulled off the cloak only when they were right outside his front door. Seconds after they had knocked, Hagrid flung it open. They found themselves face-to-face with him aiming a crossbow at them. Fang barked loudly behind him.

'Oh,' he said, lowering the weapon and staring at them. 'What're you two doin' here?'

'What's that for?' said Harry, pointing at the crossbow as they stepped inside.

'Nothin' – nothin' –' Hagrid muttered. 'I've bin expectin' – doesn' matter – Sit down – I'll make tea –'

He hardly seemed to know what he was doing. He nearly extinguished the fire, spilling water from the kettle on it, and then smashed the teapot with a nervous jerk of his massive hand.

'Are you okay, Hagrid?' said Arabella. 'Did you hear about Hermione?'

'Oh, I heard, all righ',' said Hagrid, a slight break in his voice.

He kept glancing nervously at the windows. He poured them large mugs of boiling water and was just putting a slab of fruitcake on a plate when there was a loud knock on the door. Hagrid dropped the fruitcake. Harry and Ron exchanged panic-stricken looks as Arabella threw the Invisibility Cloak over them and retreated to the corner. Hagrid made sure that they were hidden and opened the door.

'Good evening, Hagrid.'

It was Dumbledore. He entered, looking serious, and was followed by a second, very odd-looking man.

'That's Dad's boss!' Ron breathed. 'Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic!'

Harry and Arabella elbowed Ron on his sides to make him shut up.

Hagrid had gone pale and sweaty. He dropped into one of his chairs and looked from Dumbledore to Fudge.

'Bad business, Hagrid,' said Fudge in rather clipped tones. 'Very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks on Muggle-borns. Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act.'

'I never,' said Hagrid, looking imploringly at Dumbledore. 'You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir —'

'I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence,' said Dumbledore, frowning at Fudge.

'Look, Albus,' said Fudge, uncomfortably. 'Hagrid's record's against him. Ministry's got to do something — the school governors have been in touch —'

'Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest,' said Dumbledore.

'Look at it from my point of view,' said Fudge, fidgeting with his bowler. 'I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen to be doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty —'

'Take me?' said Hagrid, who was trembling. 'Take me where?'

'For a short stretch only,' said Fudge, not meeting Hagrid's eyes. 'Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology —'

'Not Azkaban?' croaked Hagrid.

Before Hagrid could answer, there was another knock on the door. Dumbledore answered it. Ron had to elbow Harry as he let out a gasp. It was Lucius Malfoy.

'Already here, Fudge,' he said approvingly. 'Good, good…'

'What're you doin' here?' said Hagrid furiously. 'Get outta my house!'

'My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your — er — d'you call this a house?' said Lucius Malfoy, sneering as he looked around the small cabin. 'I simply called at the school and was told that the headmaster was here.'

'And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?' said Dumbledore. He spoke politely, but there was a fire blazing in his blue eyes.

'Dreadful thing, Dumbledore,' said Malfoy lazily, taking out a long roll of parchment, 'but the governors fell it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension – you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we fell you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school.'

'Oh, now, see here, Lucius,' said Fudge, looking alarmed, 'Dumbledore suspended – no, no – last thing we want just now –'

'The appointment — or suspension — of the headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge,' said Mr. Malfoy smoothly. 'And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks —'

'See here, Malfoy, if Dumbledore can't stop them,' said Fudge, whose upper lip was sweating now, 'I mean to say, who can?'

'That remains to be seen,' said Mr. Malfoy with a nasty smile. 'But as all twelve of us have voted —'

Hagrid leapt to his feet, his shaggy black head grazing the ceiling.

'An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?' he roared.

'Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid,' said Mr. Malfoy. 'I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all.'

'Yeh can' take Dumbledore!' yelled Hagrid, making Fang the boarhound cower and whimper in his basket. 'Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!'

'Calm yourself, Hagrid,' said Dumbledore sharply. He looked at Lucius Malfoy. 'If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside —'

'But —' stuttered Fudge.

'No!' growled Hagrid.

Dumbledore had not taken his bright blue eyes off Lucius Malfoy's cold gray ones.

'However,' said Dumbledore, speaking very slowly and clearly so that none of them could miss a word, 'you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.'

For a second, Harry was sure Dumbledore's eyes flickered toward the corner where he, Ron and Arabella stood hidden.

'Admirable sentiments,' said Malfoy, bowing. 'We shall all miss your — er — highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope that your successor will manage to prevent any — ah — killins.'

He strode to the cabin door, opened it, and bowed Dumbledore out. Fudge, fiddling with his bowler, waited for Hagrid to go ahead of him, but Hagrid stood his ground, took a deep breath, and said carefully, 'If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the spiders. That'd lead 'em right! That's all I'm sayin'.'

Fudge stared at him in amazement.

'All right, I'm comin',' said Hagrid, pulling on his moleskin overcoat. But as he was about to follow Fudge through the door, he stopped again and said loudly, 'An' someone'll need ter feed Fang while I'm away.'

The door banged shut and Ron pulled off the Invisibility Cloak.

'We're in trouble now,' he said hoarsely. 'No Dumbledore. They might as well close the school tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone.'

Fang started howling, scratching at the closed door.


	14. Aragog

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella. **

**Hope you like it :)**

Aragog

Harry, Ron and Arabella had tried to visit Hermione many times, but visitors were now barred from the hospital wing.

'We're taking no more chance,' Madam Pomfrey told them severely through a crack in the infirmary door. 'No, I'm sorry, there's every chance the attacker might come back to finish these people off…'

With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before. There was barely a face in the corridors that wasn't looking worried and tense, and all the laughter was gone.

There was only one person that seemed to enjoy the new atmosphere was Malfoy. They didn't notice what he was so pleased about until the Potions lesson two weeks after Dumbledore and Hagrid had left. They were sitting beside him and heard him gloating to Crabbe and Goyle.

'I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore,' he said, not troubling to keep his voice down. 'I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school's ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent headmaster now. Someone who won't want the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in…'

Harry could see Arabella trying to hold in her temper. She was clutching her spoon so tightly that it was starting to crack near the handle.

'Sir,' said Malfoy loudly as Snape was sweeping past them. 'Sir, why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?'

'Because he'd be a fail at it,' muttered Arabella. Thankfully, Snape didn't hear her.

'Now, now, Malfoy,' said Snape. 'Professor Dumbledore had only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough.'

'Yeah, right,' said Malfoy, smirking. 'I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the jib – I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir –'

Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon.

'I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now,' Malfoy went on. 'Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger –'

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy's last words, Ron and Arabella had made their way towards Malfoy, but Dean, Seamus and Harry had stopped them.

'Let me at him,' Ron growled as Harry and Dean hung onto his arms. 'I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands –'

Beside them Seamus had a hard time holding onto Arabella and Neville came to help him, but that really didn't improve anything.

'Let – me – go,' Arabella struggled against them. 'Come on, we'll be going a favour if he's gone.'

'Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology,' barked Snape over the class's heads, and off they marched. Harry and Dean were still holding on to Ron, as Seamus and Neville were also holding on to Arabella. It was only safe to let go of them when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.

* * *

During Herbology, Harry spotted something in the corner of his eyes. Several large spiders were scurrying over the ground on the other side of the glass, moving in an unnatural straight line. Harry hit Ron and Arabella over their heads with is pruning shears.

'Ouch! What're you –'

Harry pointed out the spiders.

'We can't follow them now,' whispered Arabella, so that nobody else could hear them.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he focused on the spiders.

'Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest…'

At the end of the lesson Professor Sprout escorted the class to their defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. Harry, Ron and Arabella lagged behind the others so they could talk out of earshot.

'We'll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again,' Harry told them. 'We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the forest with Hagrid, he might be some help.'

'Right,' said Ron, who was twirling his wand nervously in his fingers. 'Er – aren't there – aren't there supposed to be werewolves in the forest?' he added as they took their usual place at the back of Lockhart's classroom.

'Werewolves aren't that bad, Ron,' said Arabella.

'There are good things in there, too. The centaurs are all right, and the unicorns…'

Lockhart bounded into the room and the class started at him.

'Come now,' he cried, beaming around him. 'Why all these long faces?'

People swapped exasperated looks, but nobody answered.

'Don't you people realize,' said Lockhart slowly, 'the danger has passed! The culprit has ben taken away –'

'Says who?' said Dean loudly.

'My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty,' said Lockhart.

'Oh, yes he would,' said Ron, even more loudly than Dean.

'I flatter myself I know a touch more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Mr Weasley,' said Lockhart in a self-satisfied tone.

'Than sir, would you _please_ tell us more about your _wisdom_ and how _you _would know _anything _about Hagrid and why he was arrested. Please, do tell us,' said Arabella, sarcasm dripping from her voice. 'Oh and also tell us about how _wonderful_ the Ministry is and how they _never_ make any mistakes and prevented _so many_ bad things from happening.'

Dean and Seamus seemed to have a hard time containing their laughter as Lockhart stood there looking a bit dumbfounded by her statement.

However, Lockhart seemed to take her statement to heart and went on and on about how he always knew Hagrid was no good and how he thought that it was Hagrid. It irritated them so much that Arabella grabbed on to one of his books and was about to flung it at Lockhart's head, but, unfortunately, Ron managed to get the book out of her hand.

Harry, who was also irritated, scrawling a note to Ron and Arabella: _Let's do it tonight._

They read the message and nodded together.

* * *

Harry, Ron and Arabella waited until the common room was fully empty before they threw on the cloak over themselves. It took them a while before they reached the front doors. They reached Hagrid's house and pushed the door open where Fang went mad with joy at the sight of them. Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid's table, as they wouldn't need it in the dark forest.

'C'mon, Fang, we're going for a walk,' said Harry, patting his leg, and Fang bounded happily out of the house behind them, dashed to the edge of the forest, and lifted his leg against a large tree.

Harry and Arabella took out their wands and muttered, '_Lumos_!' and a tiny light appeared at the ends of their wands.

Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder, pointing at the grass. Two solitary spiders were hurrying away from the wandlight into the shade of the tree.

'Come on,' said Arabella, following the spiders. 'Let's go.'

The entered the forest, following the glow of their wands as they tried to follow the spiders. They walked for about twenty minutes, getting deeper and deeper into the darkening forest.

Then Fang suddenly let loose a great bark, making then jump out of their skins.

'What?' said Ron loudly, gripping Harry and Arabella's elbows very hard.

'There's something moving out there,' Harry breathed. 'Listen… sounds like something big…'

They listened. Somewhere to their right, something big was snapping branches.

'Oh, no,' said Ron. 'Oh, no, oh, no, oh –'

'Shut up,' said Arabella. 'It'll hear you.'

'Hear Me?' said Ron in an unnaturally high voice. 'It's already heard Fang!'

They stood there, terrified, waiting for something. There was a strange rumbling noise and then silence.

'What d'you think it's doing?' said Harry.

'Probably getting ready to pounce,' said Ron.

They waited, shivering, hardly daring to move.

'Do you think it's gone?' whispered Arabella.

'Dunno –'

Then, to their right, came a sudden blaze of light.

'Harry! Arabella!' Ron shouted, his voice breaking with relief. 'It's the car!'

'What?' said Harry and Arabella.

'Come on!'

'It's been here the whole time!' said Ron delightedly, walking around the car. 'Look at it. The forest's turned it wild…'

Harry and Arabella stuffed their wands back into their robes, relief that the car was there.

'And we thought it was going to attack us!' said Ron, leaning against the car and patting it. 'I wondered where it had gone!'

Arabella squinted around them, trying to find the spiders.

'We've lost the spiders,' she said. 'Come on, let's go and find them.'

Ron didn't speak, nor did he move. He was staring at something behind Harry and Arabella. His face was livid was terror.

Harry and Arabella didn't have the time to turn around. There was a loud clicking noise and suddenly they felt something long and hairy seizing them around their middle and lifting them above the ground, so they were hanging facedown. They heard more clicking and saw that Ron was also lifted off the ground, and next was Fang. They were being taken somewhere and they just realized what was carrying them. Spiders and not the tiny little ones they saw before. Gigantic spiders the size of carthorses.

Harry fell to the ground as the gigantic spider released him. Arabella, Ron and fang fell beside next to him.

Harry suddenly realized that the spider that had dropped them was saying something.

'Aragog!' it called. 'Aragog!'

And from the middle of the wed, a spider the size of a small elephant emerged, very slowly.

'What is it?' he said, clicking his pincers rapidly.

'Men,' clicked the spider who had caught Harry.

'Is it Hagrid?' said Aragog, moving closer.

'Stranger,' clicked the spider who had brought Ron.

'Kill them,' clicked Aragog. 'I was sleeping…'

'Wait,' said Arabells desperately. 'We're friends of Hagrid's.'

Aragog paused.

'Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before,' he said slowly.

'He's in trouble,' said Arabella. She looked like she was hyperventilating.

'That's why we've come here,' said Harry squeezing her arms for reassurance.

'In trouble?' said Aragog. 'But why has he sent you?'

'They think, up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting a – a – something on students. They've taken him to Azkaban.'

'But that was years ago,' said Aragog fretfully. 'Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free.'

'But, you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets, did you?' said Arabella, holding on to Harry's arm.

'I!' said Argog angrily. 'I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how out family has grown, all though Hagrid's goodness…'

'So you never – never attacked anyone?' said Harry.

'Never,' croaked Aragog. 'It would have been my instinct, but out of respect to Hagrid, I never harmed a human. They body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and the quiet..'

'Do you – do you know what killed the girl?' said Arabella. 'Because it's back, whatever it is.'

Her words were drowned by a loud outbreak of clicking and the rustling of many long legs shifting angrily. They large spiders were shifting all around them.

'The thing that lives in the castle,' said Aragog, 'is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the school.'

'What is it?' said Harry urgently.

More loud clicking. The spiders seemed to be closing in.

'We do not speak of it!' said Aragog fiercely. 'We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread creature, though he asked me, many times.'

Harry didn't want to press the subject, not with the spiders pressing closer on all sides. Aragog seemed to be tired of talking. He was backing slowly into his web, but the other sides seemed to be inching closer and closer towards Harry, Arabella and Ron.

'We'll just go then,' Harry called desperately to Aragog, hearing leaves rustling behind him.

'Go?' said Aragog slowly. 'I think not…'

'But – but –'

'My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat, when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Good-bye, friends of Hagrid.'

Harry spun around. Feet away, towering above them was a solid wall of spiders, clicking, with their many eyes gleaming in their ugly heads.

They were standing there, ready to die, when a loud note sounded, and a blaze of light flamed through the hollow. Mr Weasley's car was thundering down the slope, headlights glaring, its horn screeching, knocking spiders aside. The car stopped to a halt in front of them and the doors flew open. Ron and Harry got in the front seat as Arabella and Fang got in the back. The engine roared and they were off, hitting more spiders. They sped up the slope, out of the hollow, and they were soon crashing through the forest, branches whipping the windows as the car made its way through the gaps in the forest.

Harry looked sideways and saw that Ron's mouth was still open in the silent scream, but his eyes weren't popping out anymore.

'Are you okay?'

Ron stared straight ahead, unable to speak. Harry looked back and saw that Arabella was hugging her knees to her chest with her eyes closed.

'Arabella, are you okay?'

She nodded her head.

They car stopped suddenly and they were nearly thrown into the windshield. They reached the end of the forest. They got out of the car and the car disappeared back into the forest.

Harry walked back into Hagrid's cabin to get the Invisibility Cloak. Fang was trembling under a blanket in his basket. When Harry got outside again, he found Ron being violently sick in the pumpkin patch with Arabella standing a few feet away from him awkwardly.

'Follow the spiders,' said Ron Weasley, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. 'I'll never forgive Hagrid. We're lucky to be alive.'

'I bet he thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his,' said Harry.

'That's exactly Hagrid's problem, thumping the wall of the cabin. 'He always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they're made out, and look where it's got him! A cell in Azkaban!' he was shivering uncontrollably now. 'What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I'd like to know?'

'Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets,' said Arabella as Harry threw the cloak over them. 'He was innocent the whole time/'

Ron gave a loud snort.

They walked carefully across the entrance hall and up the marble staircase. At last they reached the Gryffindor common room. They took off the cloak as Arabella went to the couch near the fireplace.

'Aren't you going to your dormitory?' asked Harry.

'No,' said Arabella, shaking her head. 'Hermione's not there and they're a bit annoying. I can't face them without Hermione.'

'Good night then.'

'Night,' said Arabella, turning over, trying to get some sleep. But that didn't happen.

Arabella tossed over a couple times, trying to block the images of Aragog and the other spiders out of her mind. In the end she just stared at the ceiling, trying to count as many sheeps as she could. After fifty, she was finally able to fall asleep. However, she was woken up by Harry a couple minutes later, with an irritated looking Ron behind him.

'Wassup?' she said, rubbing her eyes.

'Arabella, the girl who died, she might have been Moaning Myrtle,' said Harry.

Arabella's eyes widened.

'Aragog said that she was found in a bathroom. What if she never left? What if she's still there?'

Arabella gulped.

'I'm sleeping in your dorms tonight,' said Arabella, getting scared. She got up and headed towards their dormitory.

'You can't sleep in our beds,' said Ron, turning red as they followed her.

'I'll sleep in the floor. I'm not sleeping on the couch and I really don't want to be in my dormitory without Hermione,' said Arabella, opening the door to their room.

Harry gave her a pillow and Ron gave her some sheets to make a bed on the floor. She slept on the floor between Harry and Ron's bed, trying to get the images of spiders and ghosts out of her head.


	15. The Chamber of Secrets

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Just Arabella. **

***Just to let you know, the last few chapters will be mostly about the plot and I tried to add as much of Arabella as I could in it.***

The Chamber of Secrets

Three days before their first exam, Professor McGonagall had an announcement for them at breakfast.

'I have good news,' she said, and the Great Hall erupted.

'Dumbledore's coming back!' several people yelled joyfully.

'You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!' squealed a girl at the Ravenclaw table.

'Quidditch matches are back on!' roared Wood excitedly.

When everybody had settled down, Professor McGonagall said, 'Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly to remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit.'

There was an explosion of cheering.

'It won't matter that we never asked Myrtle, then!' said Ron to Harry and Arabella. 'Hermione'll probably have all the answers when they wake her up! Mind you, she'll go crazy when she finds out we've got exams in three days' time. She hasn't studied. It might be kinder to leave her where she is till they're over.'

Just then, Ginny came over and sat down next to Arabella. She looked tensed and nervous.

'Ginny, are you okay?' asked Arabella, putting her hand on her shoulder.

Ginny didn't say anything, but glanced up and down the Gryffindor table with a scared look on her face.

'Spit it out,' said Ron, watching her.

'I've got to tell you something,' Ginny mumbled.

'What is it?' said Harry.

Ginny looked as though she couldn't find the right words.

'Ginny, you can talk to you,' said Arabella,

Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Harry leaned forward and spoke quietly, so that only Ginny, Arabella and Ron could hear him.

'Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?'

Ginny drew a deep breath and, at the precise moment, Percy Weasley appeared, looking tired.

'If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat, Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty.'

Ginny jumped up as though her chair had been electrified, gave Percy a brief, frightened look, and walked away. Percy sat down and grabbed a mug from the center of the table.

'Percy!' said Ron angrily. 'She was just about to tell us something important!'

Halfway through the gulp of tea, Percy choked.

'What sort of thing?' he said, coughing.

'We just asked her if she'd seen anything odd, and she started to say –'

'Oh – that – that's nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets,' said Percy at once.

'How do you know?' said Ron, his eyebrows raised.

'Well, er, if you must know, Ginny, er, walked in on me the other day when I was – well, never mind – the point is, she spotted me doing something and I, um, I asked her not to mention it to anybody. I must say, I did think she'd keep her word. It's nothing, really, I'd rather –'

Harry had never seen Percy look so uncomfortable.

'What were you doing, Percy?' said Ron, grinning. 'Go on, tell us, we won't laugh.'

Percy didn't smile back.

'Pass me those rolls, Harry, I'm starving.'

* * *

'Mark my words,' said Lockhart as he was ushering them around the corner. 'The first words out of those poor Petrified people's mouths will be _'It was Hagrid.' _Frankly, I'm astounded Professor McGonagall thinks all these security measure are necessary.'

'I agree, sir,' said Harry, making Ron and Arabella drop their books.

'Thank you, Harry,' said Lockhart while they waited for a long line of Hufflepuffs to pass. 'I mean, we teachers have quite enough to be getting on with, without walking students to classes and standing guard all night…'

'I agree with you, sir,' said Arabella, catching on. 'Why don't you leave us here since we've only got one more corridor to go –'

'You know, Miss Black, I think I will,' said Lockhart. 'I really should go and prepare my next class –'

And he hurried off.

'Prepare his class,' Ron sneered after him. 'Gone to curl his hair, more like.'

They let the rest of the Gryffindors draw ahead of them, then darted down a side passage and hurried off toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

'Potter! Weasley! Black! What are you doing?'

It was Professor McGonagall, and her mouth was the thinnest of thin lines.

'We were going to go see Hermione, Professor. We haven't seen her in a while and we miss her,' said Arabella, very quickly. Harry, Ron and Professor McGonagall were all looking at her. For a moment, it looked like Professor McGonagall was about to exploded, but then she spoke, it was in a steangely croaky voice.

'Of course,' she said. 'Of course, I realize this has all been hardest on the friends of those who have been… I quite understand. Yes, Black, of course you may visit Miss Granger. I will inform Professor Binns where you've gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given my permission.'

'That,' said Ron, as they were walking towards the hospital wing, 'was the best thing you have ever come up with.'

Madam Pomfrey let them in, but reluctantly.

'Wonder if she did see the attacker, though?' said Ron, looking at Hermione's face. 'Because if he sneaked up on them all, no one'll ever know…'

But harry want looking at Hermione's face. He was more interested in her right hand. It lay clenched in top of her blankets, and bending closer, he saw that a piece of paper was scrunched insider her fist.

Making sure that Madam Pomfrey was nowhere near, he pointed this to Ron and Arabella.

'Try and get it out,' whispered Arabella as Ron was shifting his chair to block Harry from Madam Pomfrey's view.

After several minutes, the paper came free. It was a page torn from a very old library book. Harry smoothed it out eagerly and Ron and Arabella leaned close to read it, too.

_Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

And beneath this, a single word had been written in Hermione's handwriting. _Pipes._

'Ron, Arabella,' breathed Harry. 'This is it. This is the answer. The monster in the Chamber's a _basilisk_ – a giant serpent! That's why I've been hearing that voice all over the place, and nobody else had heard it. It's because I understand Parseltongue…'

'That's why nobody has died,' said Arabella, finally understanding. 'Nobody has looked it in the eyes. They all saw it through something. Colin saw it through his camera. Justin must have seen it through Nearly Headless Nick, and Nick couldn't die again… And Hermione must have realized what it was and used the mirror, and the Ravenclaw girl was with her at the time and…'

Ron's jaw had dropped.

'And Mrs Norris?' he whispered eagerly.

'The water,' said Arabella. 'There was water there. I remember slipping on it. She probably saw the reflection from it. There was a flooding from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom at that time.'

'But how's the basilisk been getting around the place?' said Ron. 'A giant snake… Someone would've seen…'

Harry pointed at the word Hermione had scribbled at the foot of the page.

'Pipes,' he said. 'Pipes… It's been using the plumbing. I've been hearing the voice inside the walls…'

Ron suddenly grabbed Harry and Arabella's arms.

'The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets!' he said hoarsely. 'What if it's a bathroom? What if it's in – '

'- Moaning Myrtle's bathroom,' said Harry and Arabella together.

'This means,' said Harry, after a moment, 'I can't be the only Parselmouth in the school. The Heir of Slytherin's one, too. That's how he's been controlling the basilisk.'

'What're we going to do?' said Ron. 'Should we go straight to McGonagall?'

'Let's go to the staffroom,' said Harry, jumping up. 'She'll be there in ten minutes. It's nearly break.'

They ran downstairs and went straight into the deserted staffroom. They paced around, too excited to sit down at one of the chairs.

But the bell to signal break never came.

Instead, echoing through the corridors came Professor McGonagall's voice, magically magnified.

'All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staffroom. Immediately, please.'

Harry wheeled to stare at Ron and Arabella.

'Not another attack? Not now?'

'What'll we do?' said Ron. 'Go back to the dormitory?'

'No,' said Arabella, heading towards the wardrobes to their left. 'We can hide in here and hear what it's all about. Then we can tell them what we've found out.'

They hid themselves inside as the staffroom door banged open. They watched all the teachers come onto the room, last one was Professor McGonagall.

'It has happened,' said Professor McGonagall. 'A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself.'

'How can you be sure?' said Snape, gripping the back of a chair very hard.

'The Heir of Slytherin left another message. Right underneath the first one. '_Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever_.''

'Who is it?' said Madam Hooch. 'Which student?'

'Ginny Weasley,' said Professor McGonagall.

Harry felt Ron slide silently down onto the wardrobe floor beside him.

'We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow,' said Professor McGonagall. 'This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said…'

The staffroom door banged open again. Lockhart had walked in, beaming.

'So sorry – dozed off – what have I missed?'

'Just the man,' said Snape, stepping forward. 'The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last.'

Lockhart blanched.

'That's right, Gilderoy,' chipped in Professor Sprout. 'Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?'

'I — well, I —' sputtered Lockhart.

'Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?' piped up Professor Flitwick.

'D-did I? I don't recall —'

'I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested,' said Snape. 'Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled, and that you should have been given a free rein from the first?'

Lockhart stared around at his stony-faced colleagues.

'I — I really never — you may have misunderstood —'

'We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy,' said Professor McGonagall. 'Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last.'

Lockhart gazed desperately around him, but nobody came to the rescue. He didn't look remotely handsome anymore. His lip was trembling, and in the absence of his usually toothy grin, he looked weak-chinned and feeble.

'V-very well,' he said. 'I'll — I'll be in my office, getting — getting ready.'

And he left the room.

'Right,' said Professor McGonagall, whose mostrils were flared, 'that's got him out from under feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories.'

The teachers rose and left, one by one.

* * *

It was probably the worst day of their lives. Harry, Ron, Arabella, Fred and George sat together in the corner of the Gryffindor common room, unable to say anything to each other.

'She knew something,' said Ron, as Fred and George went up to bed. 'That's why she was taken. It wasn't some stupid thing about Percy at all. She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was –' Ron rubbed his eyes frantically. 'I mean, she was a pureblood. There can't be any other reason.'

Harry and Arabella said nothing. They were both staring outside the window, hoping that this was some horrible dream that they would be able to wake up soon.

'D'you know what?' said Ron. 'I think we should go and see Lockhart. Tell him what we know. He's going to try and get into the chamber. We can tell him where we think it is, and tell him it's a basilisk in there.'

They both agreed. Nobody tried to stop them as they got up, crossed the room and left through the portrait hole.

Harry knocked on the door of Lockhart's room and it cracked open. Lockhart's eyes were peering through the crack.

'Oh – Mr Potter – Mr Weasley – Miss Black – ' he said, opening the door a bit wider. 'I'm rather busy at the moment – if you would be quick –'

'Professor, we've got some information for you,' said Harry. 'We think it'll help you.'

'Er – well – it's not terribly –' The side of Lockhart's face that they could see looked very uncomfortable. 'I mean – well – all right – '

He opened the door and they entered.

'Are you going somewhere, sir?' said Arabella, looking around the room where there were packed boxes.

'Er, well, yes,' said Lockhart. 'Urgent call – unavoidable – got to go –'

'What about my sister?' said Ron jerkily.

'Well, as to that – most unfortunate –' said Lockhart, avoiding their eyes. 'No one regrets more than I –'

'You're the Defense Against the Dark arts teacher!' said Arabella, hotly. 'You can't go now! The school needs you! Ginny needs you!'

'Well – I must say – when I took the job –' Lockhart muttered. 'Nothing in the job subscription – didn't expect –'

'You mean you're running away?' said Harry disbelievingly. 'After all that stuff you did in your books –'

'Books can be misleading,' said Lockhart.

'You wrote them!' Harry shouted.

'My dear boy,' said Lockhart, straightening up and frowning at them. 'Do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things. No one wants – '

'So you took credit for what others have done?' said Arabella, reaching for her wand and glaring at Lockhart.

'Arabella, Arabella,' said Lockhart, shaking his head impatiently, 'it's not nearly as simple as that. There was work involved. I had to track those people down and find out how the managed to do what they did. Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn't remember doing it. It's not all book signings and publicity photos, you know. You want fame, you have to be prepared for a long hard slog.'

He banged the lids of his trunks shut and locked them.

'Let's see,' he said. 'I think that's everything. Yes. Only one thing left.'

He pulled out his wand and turned to them.

'Awfully sorry, boys, but I'll have to put a Memory Charm in you –'

'_Expelliarmus_!' shouted Arabella.

Lockhart was blasted backward, his wand flying out of his hand. Ron caught the wand and threw it out the window.

'I'm a girl,' said Arabella, furiously. She was pointing her wand at Lockhart. Harry and Ron also pointed their wands at him too.

'What d'you want me to do?' said Lockhart weakly. 'I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do.'

'You're in luck,' said Harry, forcing Lockhart to his feet at wandpoint. 'We think we know where it is. And what's inside it. Let's go.'

They marched Lockhart out of his office and into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They sent Lockhart in first. Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet.

'Oh, it's you,' she said when she saw Harry. 'What do you want this time?'

'To ask you how you died,' said Harry.

Myrtle's whole aspect changed at once. She looked as though she had never been asked such a flattering question.

'Ooooh, it was dreadful,' she said with relish. 'It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then —' Myrtle swelled importantly, her face shining. 'I died.'

'How?' said Harry.

'No idea,' said Myrtle in hushed tones. 'I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away. . . .' She looked dreamily at Harry. 'And then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses.'

'Where exactly did you see the eyes?' said Harry.

'Somewhere there,' said Myrtle, pointing vaguely toward the sink in front of her toilet.

Harry, Ron and Arabella hurried over to it. Lockhart was standing well back, a look of utter terror on his face. It looked like an ordinary sink. And then Harry saw it: Scratched on the side of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.

'That tap's never worked,' said Myrtle brightly as he tried to turn it.

'Harry,' said Ron. 'Say something. Something in Parseltongue.'

'But –'

'Just try,' said Arabella desperately.

'Open up,' said Harry.

A strange hissing noise escaped him. The tap glowed white and began to spin. The sink began to move, it sank out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed, a pipe wide enough for a man to slide into.

'I'm going down there,' said Harry.

'Us too,' said Ron. Arabella nodded.

There was a pause.

'Well, you hardly seem to need me,' said Lockhart. 'I'll just –'

He put his hand on the door knob, but they pointed their wands at him.

'You can go first,' Ron snarled. Lockhart approached the opening.

'Boys,' he said. 'Boys, what goo –'

Arabella had enough and pushed Lockhart down the slide. Then she followed closely, with Harry then Ron.

It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide. They landed on a damp floor of a dark stone tunnel large enough to stand in.

'We must be miles under the school,' said Harry.

'Under the lake, probably,' said Ron/

'_Lumos_!' Arabella muttered. 'C'mon,' she said and they went off.

The tunnel was so dark that they could only see a little distance ahead.

'Remember,' Harry said quietly. 'Any signs of movement, close your eyes right away…'

They kept moving, trying not to think about how Ginny might look if they found her.

'Harry – Arabella – there's something up there,' said Ron hoarsely, grabbing onto their arms.

They froze, watching. Harry could just see the outline of something huge and curved, lying across the tunnel. It wasn't moving.

'Maybe it's asleep,' he breathed, glancing back at the others.

Very slowly, Arabella made her way towards the creature, her wand held high. It was snake skin. It must have been about twenty feet long.

There was a sudden movement behind them. Lockhart's knees had given way.

'Get up,' said Ron sharply, pointing his wand at Lockhart.

Lockhart got to his feet – then he dived at Ron, knocking him to the ground.

Harry and Arabella jumped forward, but too late – Lockhart was straightening up, panting, Ron's wand in his hand and a smile back on his face.

'The adventure ends here, boys!' he said. 'I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you three tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body — say good-bye to your memories!'

He raised Ron's Spellotaped wand high over his head and yelled, 'Obliviate!'

The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb. Arabella grabbed on to Harry and pulled him aside. Next moment, he was standing with Arabella, gazing at a solid wall of broken rock.

'Ron!' shouted Arabella. 'Are you okay? Ron!'

'I'm here!' came Ron's muffled voice from behind the rockfall. 'I'm okay – the git's not, though – he got blasted by the wand –'

There was a dull thud and a loud 'ow!' It sounded as though Ron had just kick Lockhart in the shins.

'What now?' Ron's voice said, sounding desperate. 'We can't get through – it'll take ages…'

'Wait here,' Harry called out to Ron. 'Wait with Lockhart. We'll go on… If we're not back in an hour…'

There was another pause.

'I'll try and shift some of this rock,' said Ron, who seemed to be trying to keep his voice steady. 'So you can – can get back through, Ad, Harry, Arabella –'

'See you in a bit,' said Arabella, holding on to Harry's hand and giving it a squeeze.

They turned away and walked for a bit until they saw a solid wall with two serpents entwined with their eyes glinting emeralds.

'Harry, are you sure you want me to come with you?' asked Arabella, her voice cracking up.

'Yes, I need you there. Ginny needs you there,' said Harry his voice dry, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Harry cleared his throat, and the emerald eyes seemed to flicker.

'_Open_,' said Harry, in a low, faint hiss.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open. Harry and Arabella, shaking from head to toe, walked inside.


	16. The Heir of Slytherin

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella.**

The Heir of Slytherin

They were standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. They pulled put their wands and moved forward. They kept walking until they saw a small figure with flaming-red hair on the ground up a head.

'Ginny!' muttered Arabella and she broke out in a sprint and dropped to her knees when she reached Ginny. Her face was as white as marble, and as cold, but her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified.

'Please don't be dead – please don't be dead –'

Arabella grabbed onto Ginny's arms, trying to find her pulse. It was there, but faintly.

'Come on, Ginny, wake up,' Harry muttered desperately as Arabella started to shake her.

'She won't wake,' said a soft voice.

Harry jumped up and spun around on his knees.

'Tom – Tom Riddle?'

Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's face.

'What d'you mean, she won't wake?' Harry said desperately. 'She's not – she's not -?'

Harry stared at him. Arabella was holding on to Ginny, trying to shield her from Riddle. There was something about his that rubbed her off the wrong way.

'Are you a ghost?' Harry said uncertainly.

'A memory,' said Riddle quietly. 'Preserved in a diary for fifty years.'

He pointed toward the floor near the statue's giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Harry had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

'You've got to help us, Tom,' said Harry. 'We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk… I don't know where it is, but it could be along any moment… Please, help us –'

Riddle didn't move. Harry tried to get his wand, but it was gone. Harry reached for Arabella's wand, but that was also gone.

'Did you see -?'

He looked up. Riddle was watching them – twirling Harry's wand in between his long fingers while his other hand had Arabella's wand.

'Thanks,' said Harry, stretching his hand for them.

A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to hold on to their wands.

'Harry, I don't think he's going to help us,' whispered Arabella, looking at Riddle while still holding onto Ginny protectively.

'What do you mean?' said Harry. He turned back to Riddle. 'Look, give us back our wands, we might need it –'

Riddle's smile broadened.

'You won't be needing it,' he said.

''What do you mean, I won't be -?'

'I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter,' said Riddle, completely forgetting about Arabella. 'For the chance to see you. To speak to you.'

'Look,' said Harry, losing patience, 'I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later –'

'We're going to talk now,' said Riddle, still smiling and pocketing their wands.

'How did Ginny get like this?' asked Arabella, looking at Ginny's face and brushing off some of the hair that stuck to her face.

'Well, that's an interesting question, Arabella Black,' said Riddle pleasantly. 'And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger.'

'What are you talking about?' said Harry.

'The diary,' said Riddle. 'My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes – how her brothers tease her, how she had come to school with secondhand robes and books, how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her, how she noticed that Arabella Black and Harry Potter were so close…'

All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry's face. There was an almost hungry look in them.

'It's very boring, having to listen to the silly troubles of an eleven-year-old girl,' he went on. 'But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. _No one's ever understood me like you, Tom… I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in… it's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket…'_

Riddle laughed a high, pitched cold laugh that didn't suit him.

'If I say it myself, Harry, Arabella, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted… I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her…'

'What d'you mean?' said harry, whose mouth had gone very dry.

'She opened the Chamber of Secrets,' mumbled Arabella, holding onto Ginny very tightly and slightly shaking.

'Exactly, Arabella Black,' said Riddle softly. 'Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of secrets. She strangled the school roosters and wrote the threatening messages on the wall. She set the serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat.'

'No,' Harry whispered.

'Yes,' said Riddle calmly. 'Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries… far more interesting, they became… _Dear Tom_,' he recited, watching Harry and Arabella's horrified faces, '_I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can't remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me. . . . There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad. . . . I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!'_

'It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary,' said Riddle. 'But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you, the very person I was most anxious to meet…'

'And why did you want to meet me?' said Harry.

'Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry,' said Riddle. 'Your whole fascinating history. I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, to gain your trust –'

'Hagrid's our friend,' said Arabella, looking at Riddle. 'You framed him didn't you? It was you the whole time –'

Riddle laughed his high laugh again.

'It was my word against Hagrid's, Arabella. On one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student… on the other hand, big blundering Hagrid, on trouble every other week, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls… Even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realize that Hagrid couldn't possibly be the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of secrets and discover the secret entrance… as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power! Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gameskeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed… Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did…'

'I bet Dumbledore saw right through you,' said Harry, his teeth gritted.

'Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled,' said Riddle carelessly. 'I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work.'

'Well, you haven't finished it,' said Harry triumphantly. 'No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again —'

'Haven't I already told you,' said Riddle quietly, 'that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been — you.'

Harry and Arabella stared at him.

'I have many questions for you Harry Potter,' said Riddle pleasantly.

'Like what?' Harry spat.

'Well,' said Riddle, smiling, 'how is it that you – a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?'

'What does that have to do with anything?' asked Arabella, getting frustrated with Riddle.

Riddle pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the ait, writing three shimmering words:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

Then he waved the wand once, and the letter of his name rearranged themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

'You see?' he whispered. 'It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!'

'You're not,' said Harry, his quiet voice full of hatred.

'Not what?' snapped Riddle.

'Not the greatest sorcerer in the world,' said Harry. 'Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest sorcerer in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says –'

'Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!' hissed Riddle.

'He's not as gone as you might think!' retorted Arabella.

Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.

Music was coming from somewhere. A second later, Fawkes was flying straight at Harry and Arabella and dropped something right next to them. Fawkes stopped singing and sat still next to Harry's cheek, gazing at Riddle.

'That's a Phoenix and that's the old school Sorting Hat,' said Riddle. He began to laugh.

'That is what Dumbledore sends his defenders! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you feel safe now Arabella Black?'

They didn't say anything.

'Now, Harry, Arabella, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter and his sidekick Arabella Black, with the best weapons Dumbledore can give them…'

Riddle looked up at the Stone face of Slytherin and opened his mouth.

'_Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four._'

Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. His mouth was opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole. Arabella finally let go of Ginny and pulled Harry from the Slytherin's face, until they hit the dark chamber wall.

Something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. They could see the giant serpent, they could sense it. Then they heard Riddle's voice: _'Kill them._'

The basilisk was moving towards Harry and Arabella. They closed their eyes and tried to run sideways blindly. Their hands were stretched out, trying to feel where they were going.

Harry tripped and fell hard onto the stone and tasted blood. Arabella barely opened her eyes but kept them on the floor to see where Harry was. She picked him up, but something smashed them into the wall. Arabella's head bounced off the wall and there was a cracking sound from her arm, but she pushed the pain away. They were waiting for the fangs of the snake to sink through their bodies.

But then the snake raised itself high in the air and its head weaving drunkenly between the pillars. The opened their eyes a bit more and saw what had distracted the snake.

Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him. Fawkes dived and scratched the basilisk eyes and blood was streaming to the floor.

'NO!' Harry heard Riddle screaming. 'LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY AND THE GIRL IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM! KILL HIM!'

The blind snake swayed confused, but still deadly. It had swept the Sorting Hat into Harry's arms. He seized it. Something hard and heavy fell seemed to appear in it. It was a gleaming sliver sword.

'KILL THE BOY AND THE GIRL! LEAVE THE BIRD! THEY ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! SNIFF — SMELL THEM!'

Arabella got to her feet and pulled Harry up.

'Take that and kill the snake,' she whispered. 'I'll go to Ginny.'

Arabella managed to dodge the snake and run over to where Riddle and Ginny was. She dropped to the floor to check on Ginny again. Her pulse was still there, but it was slowing down.

'You can't save her,' said Riddle, crouching down so he could see Arabella's face. 'Is this really worth it? Being friends with Harry Potter? Going through danger like this?'

Arabella didn't say anything. Riddle stood up again as Arabella's eyes never left him.

'I can offer you something more. Join me and all your wildest dreams will be fulfilled. We can stand side-by-side as we change the wizarding world for the better. You'll be my Queen, and I'll treat you like one.'

'Why do you want me?' asked Arabella, astonished.

'You are a Black, correct?' asked Riddle. Not waiting for the answer, he continued. 'You can make your family proud. Imagine their faces when they hear that you, Heir to the Black family, have joined Lord Voldemort's side as his equal. What do you say?'

He gave her a charming smile, thinking that she couldn't possible say no to it.

'I will never, ever in my life join you,' spat out Arabella. Riddle's demeanour had changed.

'Fine. When Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley are dead, I'll take you and give you to Bellatrix Lestrange. You remember her, do you?' he saw her terrified face. 'I think she'll want to finish what she started, don't you? You'll be her prize for her many years of loyalty.'

To their right, they head an animalistic scream. Harry's arm seemed to be in the serpent's mouth, but blood was coming out from the snake. The snake keeled over sideways and fell to the floor.

Riddle walked towards Harry, just as he fell to the ground. Arabella could see that Riddle was saying something to Harry, but she couldn't hear what. Fawkes was resting on Harry's arm and seemed to crying on to Harry.

Arabella turned her head away from the scene and focused on Ginny. Her pulse was dropping dramatically. She was getting colder and colder by the second. Arabella pulled Ginny close to her body, trying to warm Ginny up with her own body heat.

Then there was a scream that came from near Harry and Riddle. Arabella looked up and saw that Riddle was twisting and scream. He was fading away right before her eyes. He was gone. Riddle was gone. She could see that something fell to the ground. It looked like their wands.

To some sort of miracle, Ginny started to move a bit in her arms. Ginny's breathing seemed to come back to normal and her eyes were opening slowly.

'Arabella,' she moaned. Harry came over to them with the sword, the diary and their wands in his hands.

Ginny slowly sat up and saw her surroundings. She gasped and tears began to pour down her face. She clung onto Arabella, trying to get out some words as she buried her face in Arabella's chest.

'Harry – Arabella – I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it on front of Percy – it was me – but I – I s-swear I d-didn't mean to – R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over – and – how did you kill that – that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary –'

'It's all right,' said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing them the fang hole, 'Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, let's get out of here –'

'I'm going to be expelled!' Ginny wept as Arabella help her to her feet.

'Nobody's going to expel you,' said Arabella firmly.

Fawkes was waiting for them hovering in the Chamber entrance. Arabella urged Ginny forward. They stepped over the dead basilisk, and back into the tunnel. They stone doors closed behind them with a soft hiss.

After a few minutes through the dark tunnel, a distant sound of slowly shifting rocks reached their ears.

'Ron!' Harry yelled, speeding up. 'Ginny's okay! I've got her!'

They heard Ron give a strangled cheer, and they turned the next bend to see his eager face staring through the sizable gap he had managed to make.

'Ginny!' Ron thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. 'You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened? How – what – where did that bird come from?'

Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny.

'He's Dumbledore's,' said Arabella, squeezing through after Ginny. Harry came squeezing after.

'How come you've got a sword?' said Ron, gaping at the glittering weapon in Harry's hand.

'I'll explain when we get out of here,' said Harry. Ginny was crying harder than ever on Arabella's shoulder. Arabella was trying to comfort her and calm her down the best she could with a broken arm.

'But –'

'Later,' said Arabella shortly. 'Where's Lockhart?'

'Back there,' said Ron, jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. 'He's in a bad way. Come and see.'

They all walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming to himself.

'His memory's gone,' said Ron. 'The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself.

Lockhart peered good-naturally up at them all.

'Hello,' he said. 'Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?'

'No,' said Ron raising his eyebrows at Harry and Arabella.

Harry bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.

'Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?' he said to Ron.

Ron shook his head, but Fawkes had swooped past Harry and was now fluttering in front of him.

'He looks like he wants you to grab hold…' said Ron, looking perplexed. 'But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there –'

'Fawkes,' said Harry, 'isn't an ordinary bird.' He turned quickly to the others. 'We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand. Professor Lockhart –'

'He means you,' said Ron sharply to Lockhart.

'You hold Ginny's other hand –'

Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt.

'Arabella, how's your arm?' asked Harry.

'I think you'd better hold on to my robes, or something else instead,' said Arabella. Ron held on to Arabella's good arm as Harry held on tightly on to the back of her robes. Harry reached out and took hold of Fawkes's tail feathers.

The next moment, they were flying upward through the pipe. Before they knew it, it was over. All five of them landed on the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and the sink was sliding back into place.

Myrtle goggled at them.

'You're alive,' she said blankly to Harry.

'There's no need to sound so disappointed,' said Harry, pulling himself off the floor and helping Arabella up.

'Oh, well… I'd just been thinking… if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet,' said Myrtle, blushing.

'Urgh!' said Ron as they left the bathroom into the deserted corridor. 'Harry! I think Myrtle's grown fond of you! You've got competition, Ginny!'

'You too Arabella,' whispered Ron in Arabella's ear.

But tears were still flooding silently down Ginny's face.

'Where now?' said Ron. Harry pointed at Fawkes, who was leading the way.

They found themselves outside of Professor McGonagall's office.

Harry knocked and pushed the door open.


	17. Dobby's Reward

**disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just Arabella. **

**I'm done the second book! Waho! I'll start on the third one sometime this week. **

**A lot of plot in this one, but somewhere towards the middle there's some Arabella and Dumbledore talk :)**

Dobby's Reward

For a moment there was silence as they stood in the doorway. Then there was a scream.

'Ginny!'

It was Mrs Weasley, who had been sitting crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feet, closely, followed by Mr Weasley, and both of them flung themselves on their daughter.

Past them was Professor Dumbledore, who was beaming, and Professor McGonagall, who was taking steady gasps, clutching her chest. Fawkes went whooshing past Harry's ear and settled on Dumbledore's shoulder, just as Harry found himself, Arabella and Ron being squished into Mrs Weasley's tight embrace.

'You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?'

'I think we'd all like to know that,' said Professor McGonagall weakly.

Mrs Weasley let go of them. Harry and Arabella turned to each other. They walked over at the desk and Harry laid the Sorting Hat, the sword and the remains of Riddle's diary.

Then they told them everything. Harry told them about hearing the voice and how Hermione finally realized that he was hearing a basilisk in the pipes. Arabella told them about how they followed the spiders into the forest, what Aragog had told them, how Harry had guessed the Moaning Myrtle had been the victim, and that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets might be in the bathroom…

'Very well,' said Professor McGonagall just as Arabella paused, 'so you found out where the entrance was – breaking about a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add – but how on earth did the two of you get out of there alive?'

So Harry told them about all the talking, about Fawkes's timely arrival and about the Sorting Hat giving him the sword. But then he faltered. He had so far avoided mentioning Riddle's diary – or Ginny.

'What interests me most,' said Dumbledore gently, 'is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forest of Albania.'

Relief swept over Harry.

'W-what's that?' said Mr. Weasley in a stunned voice. 'You-Know-Who? En-enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not ...Ginny hasn't been ...has she?'

'It was the diary,' said Arabella. 'Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen…'

'Brilliant,' said Dumbledore, picking up the diary. 'Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen.' He turned around to the Weasleys, who were looking utterly bewildered.

'Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school… traveled far and wide… sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here.'

'But, Ginny,' said Mrs. Weasley. 'What's our Ginny got to do with — with — him?'

'His d-diary!' Ginny sobbed. 'I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year —'

'Ginny!' said Mr. Weasley, flabbergasted. 'Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic —'

'I d-didn't know,' sobbed Ginny. 'I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it —'

'Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away,' Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. 'This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort.' He strode over to the door and opened it. 'Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up,' he added, twinkling kindly down at her. 'You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice — I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment.'

'So Hermione's okay!' said Ron brightly.

'There has been no lasting harm, Ginny,' said Dumbledore.

Mrs Weasley led Ginny out, and Mr Weasley followed, still looking deeply shaken.

'You know, Minerva,' Professor Dumbledore said thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, 'I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchens?'

'Right,' said Professor McGonagall crisply, also moving to the door. 'I'll leave you to deal with Potter, Weasley and Black, shall I?'

'Certainly,' said Dumbledore.

She left, and Harry, Ron and Arabella gazed uncertainly at Dumbledore.

'I seem to remember telling the three of you that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules,' said Dumbledore.

Ron opened his mouth in horror.

'Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat out words,' Dumbledore went on, smiling. 'The three of you will receive Special Awards for Services to the School and – let me see – yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor. But some of us seem to be keeping mightily quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure. Why so modest, Gilderoy?'

Harry and Arabella gave a start. They had completely forgotten about Lockhart when they were telling their stories. When Dumbledore addressed him, Lockhart looked over his shoulder to see who he was talking to.

'Professor Dumbledore,' Ron said quickly, 'there was an accident down in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart —'

'Am I a professor?' said Lockhart in mild surprise. 'Goodness. I expect I was hopeless, was I?'

'He tried to do a Memory Charm and the wand backfired,' Ron explained quietly to Dumbledore.

'Dear me,' said Dumbledore, shaking his head, his long silver mustache quivering. 'Impaled upon your own sword, Gilderoy!'

'Sword?' said Lockhart dimly. 'Haven't got a sword. That boy has, though.' He pointed at Harry. 'He'll lend you one.'

'Would you mind taking Professor Lockhart up to the infirmary, too?' Dumbledore said to Ron. 'I'd like a few more words with Harry and Arabella...'

Ron and Lockhart walked out of the room.

Dumbledore crossed to one of the chairs by the fire.

'Sit down,' he said. Harry and Arabella sat down, feeling nervous.

'First of all, I want to thank you both,' said Dumbledore. 'You both have shown real loyalty and bravery in the Chamber. And so you met Tom Riddle. I imagine he was most interested in you Harry…'

'Professor Dumbledore… Riddle said I'm like him. Strange likeness, he said…'

'Did he, now?' said Dumbledore, looking thoughtfully at Harry from under his thick silver eyebrows. 'And what do you think, Harry?'

'I don't think I'm like him!' said Harry, more loudly than he'd intended. 'I mean, I'm — I'm in Gryffindor, I'm . . .' But he fell silent, a lurking doubt resurfacing in his mind.

'Professor,' he started again after a moment. 'The Sorting Hat told me I'd — I'd have done well in Slytherin. Everyone thought I was Slytherin's heir for a while ...because I can speak Parseltongue...'

'You can speak Parseltongue, Harry,' said Dumbledore calmly, 'because Lord Voldemort — who is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin — can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure...'

'There's a bit of Voldemort in Harry?' said Arabella, looking astonished.

'It certainly seems so.'

'So I should be in Slytherin,' Harry said, looking desperately into Dumbledore's face. 'The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in me, and it —'

'Put you in Gryffindor,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue — resourcefulness — determination — a certain disregard for rules,' he added, his mustache quivering again. 'Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think.'

'It only put me in Gryffindor,' said Harry in a defeated voice, 'because I asked not to go in Slytherin...'

'Exactly,' said Dumbledore, beaming once more. 'Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.' Harry sat motionless in his chair, stunned. 'If you want proof, Harry, that you belong in Gryffindor, I suggest you look more closely at this.'

Dumbledore reached across to Professor McGonagall's desk, picked up the blood-stained silver sword, and handed it to Harry. Dully, Harry turned it over, the rubies blazing in the firelight. And then he saw the name engraved just below the hilt.

_Godric Gryffindor._

'Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry,' said Dumbledore simply.

For a minute, neither of them spoke. Then Dumbledore pulled open one of the drawers in Professor McGonagall's desk and took out a quill and a bottle of ink.

'What you need, Harry, is some food and sleep. I suggest you go down to the feast, while I write to Azkaban — we need our gamekeeper back. Arabella, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something if you don't mind.'

Harry got up and crossed to the door. He had reached for the handle when the door burst open.

Lucius Malfoy stood there, fury in his face. And behind him was Dobby.

'Good evening, Lucius,' said Dumbledore. Arabella was glaring at Lucius Malfoy.

Mr. Malfoy almost knocked Harry over as he swept into the room. Dobby went scurrying in after him, crouching at the hem of his cloak, a look of abject terror on his face. The elf was carrying a stained rag with which he was attempting to finish cleaning Mr. Malfoy's shoes. Apparently Mr. Malfoy had set out in a great hurry, for not only were his shoes half-polished, but his usually sleek hair was disheveled. Ignoring the elf bobbing apologetically around his ankles, he fixed his cold eyes upon Dumbledore.

'So!' he said. 'You've come back. The governors suspended you, but you still saw fit to return to Hogwarts.'

'Well, you see, Lucius,' said Dumbledore, smiling serenely, 'the other eleven governors contacted me today. It was something like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, to tell the truth. They'd heard that Arthur Weasley's daughter had been killed and wanted me back here at once. They seemed to think I was the best man for the job after all. Very strange tales they told me, too... Several of them seemed to think that you had threatened to curse their families if they didn't agree to suspend me in the first place.'

'Wonder how that happened,' said Arabella sarcastically, glaring at Mr Malfoy.

'So — have you stopped the attacks yet?' sneered Mr Malfoy. 'Have you caught the culprit?'

'We have,' said Dumbledore, with a smile. 'Well?' said Mr. Malfoy sharply. 'Who is it?'

'The same person as last time, Lucius,' said Dumbledore. 'But this time, Lord Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary.'

He held up the small black book with the large hole through the center, watching Mr. Malfoy closely. Harry, however, was watching Dobby.

The elf was doing something very odd. His great eyes fixed meaningfully on Harry, he kept pointing at the diary, then at Mr. Malfoy, and then hitting himself hard on the head with his fist.

'I see . . .' said Mr. Malfoy slowly to Dumbledore.

'A clever plan,' said Dumbledore in a level voice, still staring Mr. Malfoy straight in the eye. 'Because if Harry here' — Mr. Malfoy shot Harry a swift, sharp look — 'Arabella' – Mr Malfoy glared murderously at Arabella – 'and his friend Ron hadn't discovered this book, why — Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would ever have been able to prove she hadn't acted of her own free will...'

Mr. Malfoy said nothing. His face was suddenly masklike.

'And imagine,' Dumbledore went on, 'what might have happened then... The Weasleys are one of our most prominent pure-blood families. Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act, if his own daughter was discovered attacking and killing Muggle-borns... Very fortunate the diary was discovered, and Riddle's memories wiped from it. Who knows what the consequences might have been otherwise...'

Mr. Malfoy forced himself to speak.

'Very fortunate,' he said stiffly.

And still, behind his back, Dobby was pointing, first to the diary, then to Lucius Malfoy, then punching himself in the head. And Harry suddenly understood. He nodded at Dobby, and Dobby backed into a corner, now twisting his ears in punishment.

'Don't you want to know how Ginny got hold of that diary, Mr. Malfoy?' said Harry.

Lucius Malfoy rounded on him.

'How should I know how the stupid little girl got hold of it?' he said.

'Because you gave it to her,' said Harry. 'In Flourish and Blotts. You picked up her old Transfiguration book and slipped the diary inside it, didn't you?'

He saw Mr. Malfoy's white hands clench and unclench.

'Prove it,' he hissed.

'Oh, no one will be able to do that,' said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry. 'Not now that Riddle has vanished from the book. On the other hand, I would advise you, Lucius, not to go giving out any more of Lord Voldemort's old school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think Arthur Weasley, for one, will make sure they are traced back to you...'

Lucius Malfoy stood for a moment, and Harry distinctly saw his right hand twitch as though he was longing to reach for his wand.

Instead, he turned to his house-elf.

'We're going, Dobby!'

He wrenched open the door and as the elf came hurrying up to him, he kicked him right through it. They could hear Dobby squealing with pain all the way along the corridor. Harry stood for a moment, thinking hard. Then it came to him —

'Professor Dumbledore,' he said hurriedly. 'Can I give that diary back to Mr. Malfoy, please?'

'Certainly, Harry,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'But hurry. The feast, remember...'

Harry grabbed to book and dashed out of the office.

'So what did you want to talk to me about, Professor?' said Arabella, turning to look at Dumbledore.

'How's your arm?' asked Dumbledore.

'It's broken, but fine,' said Arabella, shrugging.

'Do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey now? Because I would like to speak with you for a while,' said Dumbledore, looking at her arm.

'I can wait,' said Arabella, curious about what he wanted to talk to her about.

'Did Tom talk to you about anything when you were down there?' asked Dumbledore.

Arabella hesitated for a moment and almost regretted saying that her broken arm could wait.

'He said asked me why I was friends with Harry and said that he could offer me everything and that I would be his Queen if I joined him. He also said that if I did, we would rule the wizard world side-by-side. He also said that I would be making my family proud if I joined him as his equal or something. When I said that I wouldn't join him, he said that he would give me to Bellatrix as a prize,' said Arabella.

Dumbledore seemed to be taking this in with a sad look on his face.

'You told me last year that you would tell me why Bellatrix want me,' said Arabella.

Dumbledore sighed before speaking.

'To Bellatrix, you represent everything wrong in her family. She hated your father and your mother. She hated the fact that you were the Black Heir at the time and that you were going to be the head of the house.'

'But I'm a girl. My last name will change when I get married,' interrupted Arabella.

'Yes, but the Head at the time was your grandmother, Walburga, and her Heirs would be the Head. Your father, despite being disinherited and removed off the family tree, was still a Black. Since he's in jail and your uncle was killed many years ago, you are the sole Heir to the Black fortunes and everything that goes along with that. That's why she hates you and went to your house that day. That and because she thought that your mother knew something about Voldemort.'

'So,' said Arabella, stunned, 'she hates me because she gets nothing and I get everything she ever wanted.'

'Basically,' said Dumbledore, 'she wants to run the Black household and get rid of the so called impure Blacks.'

'That crazy, lunatical bitc –'

'Miss Black,' said Dumbledore sternly.

'Yeah, sorry,' mumbled Arabella, looking down at her lap.

There was silence that followed that conversation.

'Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?' asked Arabella after sometime.

'Yes, I wanted to ask you about the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. I asked someone to fill in the position but I was wondering –'

'Oh my god, you asked Snape,' said Arabella, her mouth open and her eyes popping out.

'_Professor _Snape,' said Dumbledore. He was about to open his mouth again, but Arabella interrupted him.

'Yeah, yeah. But you can't ask him – you just can't,' said Arabella talking very frantically. 'Who will be the potions professor?'

'Miss Black –'

She widened her eyes. 'Unless, you're making him both! Please, Professor Dumbledore, -'

'Miss Black!'

Arabella's mouth snapped close and stared at Dumbledore.

'I'm not asking Professor Snape to change his position or adding one to his title. I was wondering if you would be okay if I asked Remus to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.'

Arabella's eyes widened again.

'You want to make Uncle Remus our teacher?' she whispered.

'Of course, I had to ask you first. Teachers with children should be okay with the arrangements and should feel comfortable about it.'

'I'm okay with it! When are you going to hire him? Did you already hire him?' asked Arabella excited.

'I will write a letter to him soon as you go to the hospital wing. I will also have to tell him about your adventure,' said Dumbledore.

Arabella nodded frantically.

'Why don't you head there right now and I will get a start on that letter,' said Dumbledore getting out some paper and a quill. 'And don't forget about the feast.'

Arabella got up and headed to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey put a cast on it, while muttering disapprovingly under her breath.

* * *

Arabella had been to several Hogwarts feasts, but never one like this. It was probably the best night of her life. Everyone was in their pajamas and the celebration lasted all night.

Hermione came running towards them screaming, 'You solved it! You solved it!' and gave Arabella a bone-crushing hug. Justin came over from the Hufflepuff table and apologized to Harry for suspecting him.

Hagrid turned up at half past three, cuffed her, Harry and Ron hard on the shoulders and they secured the House Cup for a second year with their six hundred points.

Professor McGonagall stood up and told them that the exams had been canceled as a school treat and Professor Dumbledore announced that Lockhart wouldn't be able to return next year because he needed to go away and get his memory back. Quite a few teachers joined in the cheering of that news.

'Shame,' said Ron, helping himself to a jam doughnut. 'He was starting to grow on me.'

* * *

Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Arabella, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny got a compartment to themselves. They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic. They played Exploding Snap, set off some fireworks and practiced disarming each other by magic. They also grew some pictures on Arabella's cast.

They were almost at King's Cross when Harry remembered something.

'Ginny – what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?'

'Oh, that,' said Ginny, giggling. 'Well — Percy's got a girlfriend.'

Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head. Arabella was staring at Ginny with her mouth open.

'What?'

'It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater,' said Ginny. 'That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was — you know — attacked. You won't tease him, will you?' she added anxiously.

'Wouldn't dream of it,' said Fred, who was looking like his birthday had come early.

'Definitely not,' said George, sniggering.

'I was right!' exclaimed Arabella at Fred and George, giving them a triumph smile.

The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped.

Harry pulled out his quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Arabella, Ron and Hermione.

This is called a telephone number,' he told Ron, scribbling it twice, tearing the parchment in two, and handing it to them. 'I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer — he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to...'

'Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?' said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier. 'When they hear what you did this year?

'Proud?' said Harry. 'Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious...'

And together they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world.


End file.
